UCSB  LIBRARY 

7f- 


Pocahontas  and  her  Attendants  bringing  Corn  to  the  Settlement. 
(See  page  71.) 


THE 


STORY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


MRS.  LEWIS   B.  MONROE. 


BOSTON: 
LEE    AND    SHEPARD,   PUBLISHERS. 

NEW  YORK:  CHARLE3  T.  DILL1NGUAM. 

1880. 


'  T7ie  greatest  glory  of  a  free-born  people 
Is  to  transmit  that  freedom  to  their  children" 


Bertrotjped  >t  the  Copyright  by 

ton  Slereotypt  Foundry.  LOCKWOOD,   BROOKS,   &    CO., 

V»8piii|LuM.  '876. 


Cambridge  '.  Pressiuork  by  John  Wilson  and  Son. 


HINT    TO   TEACHEES. 


The  "STORY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY" 
having  found  favor  with  the  little  ones  for 
whom  it  was  written,  the  writer  is  encour- 
aged to  say  that  it  has  been  sucessfully 
used  as  a  reading-book,  meeting  the  wants 
of  children  using  the  Third  or  Fourth 
Reader  of  any  series.  A  pleasant  and 
profitable  exercise  is  to  let  the  children 
take  turns  in  personating  the  characters 
ot  the  dialogue,  while  the  rest  of  the 
class  find  on  their  maps  the  places  men- 
tioned. Used  in  this  way  there  need  be 
only  four  books  to  a  class;  —  one  for  the 
teacher,  three  for  the  children  reading. 

MRS.  L.  11.  MONROE. 
November  12,   1879. 


HOW  THIS  STORY  CAME  TO  BE  WRITTEN. 


MOTHER  and  her  two  children,  Will  and  Lizzie, 
are  sitting  before  a  bright  fire  in  a  pleasant  parlor. 
Will  is  twelve  years  old  and  Lizzie  ten.  They  are 
earnest,  wide-awake  children,  full  of  fun  and  frolic ; 
but  through  all  their  good  times,  they  are  constantly 
learning  much  that  will  be  useful  to  them  in  after 

life.     Mother  never  refuses  to  answer  their  ques- 

5 


6  HOW   THIS   STORY   CAME   TO   BE   WRITTEN. 

tions ;  but  with  patient  love  seeks  to  impart  to  them 
the  desire  of  finding  beauty  and  goodness  every- 
where. 

What  merry  times,  then,  do  Will  and  Lizzie  have, 
when,  supper  being  over,  they  sit  down  before  the 
crackling  logs  in  the  open  fireplace,  to  talk  over  the 
pleasures  of  the  day,  or  hear  mother  tell  stories. 

Ah!  what  stories  has  she  told  them! — of  birds, 
and  beasts,  and  flowers  !  The  wonders  of  fairy 
land,  too,  she  has  often  unfolded  to  the  eager  little 
listeners. .  After  every  story,  whether  of  child-life, 
bird-life,  or  fairy-land,  she  is  greeted  by  the  ques- 
tion, "Is  it  true,  mother?" 

The  delight  with  which  Will  and  Lizzie  always 
hear  the  answer,  "  Yes,  it  is  all  true ! "  has  led 
mother  to  tell  them 

THE  STOBY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


CONTENTS. 


COLUMBUS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    FOUR  HUNDRED  YEARS  AGO, 9 

II.   A  BRAVE  VOYAGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT,     ....    20 

III.  WHAT  AFTERWARDS  HAPPENED  TO  COLUMBUS,      ...    29 

JOHN   AND    SEBASTIAN   CABOT. 

IV.  MORE  DISCOVERIES, 37 

SIR   WALTER  RALEIGH. 
V.   TRYING  TO  MAKE  HOMES  IN  AMERICA, 46 

JOHN    SMITH. 
VI.    A  COLONY  WITH  A  LEADER, 55 

VII.  A  NOBLE  INDIAN  GIRL, G8 

THE   PILGRIMS. 

VIII.  THE  HOME  OF  FREEDOM,      79 

ROGER   WILLIAMS. 
IX.   ALONE  IN  THE  WOODS, 97 

X.    MORE  COLONIES, 107 

WILLIAM   PENN. 
XI.   A  FRIEND  TO  THE  INDIANS,      114 

XII.   THE  PEQUOD  WAR, 124 


CONTENTS. 
KING   PHILIP. 

CHATTEB  PAOB 

XIII.  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR, 129 

XIV.  KING  GEORGE'S  WAR, 142 

BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN. 

XV.    How  A  POOR  BOY  BECAME  A  FAMOUS  MAN,    .    .  147 
XVI.    WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  AN  ENGLISH  GENERAL,  .  .    .  157 

THE   ACADIANS. 
XVII.    DRIVEN  INTO  EXILE, 167 

XVIII.    THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR, 172 

GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

XIX.    WASHINGTON'S  BOYHOOD, 179 

XX.   ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY, 185 

XXI.    STIRRING  TIMES  IN  BOSTON, 193 

XXII.    THE  QUARREL  INCREASES, 200 

XXIII.  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR, 210 

XXIV.  THE  WAR  GOES  ON, 224 

XXV.    THE  AMERICAN  CAUSE  MORE  HOPEFUL, 232 

MARION. 
XXVI.    THE  WAR  AT  THE  SOUTH, 241 

BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 
XXVII.   A  TRAITOR, 252 

XXVIII.    VICTORY  AT  LAST, .259 

XXIX.   THE  SHIP  OF  STATE, 269 


THE  STORY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 
i. 

FOUR  HUNDRED  YEARS   AGO. 

MOTHER.  —  If  we  could  be  up  in  a  balloon  high 
enough  to  see  the  world  beneath  us,  how  do  you 
think  it  would  look? 

WILL.  —  Like  a  great  ball,  of  course. 

MOTHER.  —  Now,  if  we  could  imagine  ourselves  to 
be  living  four  hundred  years  ago,  and  up  in  a  bal- 
loon, we  should  see  very  many  more  people  on  one 
side  of  the  globe  than  on  the  other.  We  should 
find  crowds  of  people  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  the 
northern  part  of  Africa;  but  we  should  find  very 
few  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe ;  that  is, 
in  North  and  South  America. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  should  we  see  in  America  ? 

MOTHER.  —  We  should  see  great  forests  and  vast 
plains,  or  prairies.  These  prairies  were  covered 
with  waving  grass  and  beautiful  flowers.  Herds 

9 


10  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

of  buffaloes  were  sporting  here.  We  should  see, 
too,  beautiful  lakes  and  rivers,  and  troops  of  deer 
feeding  along  their  banks.  In  the  dark  forests  we 
should  see  foxes,  wolves,  and  panthers. 

LIZZIE.  —  Were  there  any  bears  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  there  were  bears,  and  other  wild 
animals ;  for  there  were  so  few  people  in  America 
then  that  the  animals  were  not  driven  from  their 
wild  haunts. 

But  let  us  see !  If  we  had  lived  four  hundred 
years  ago,  we  should  have  known  nothing  about 
balloons ;  we  should  not  have  known  even  that  the 
world  was  round. 

WILL.  —  Why,  mother,  you  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  people  were  so  stupid  as  not  to  know  that  the 
world  is  round  1 

MOTHER.  —  I  do,  indeed.  For  hundreds  of  years 
people  had  wondered  what  shape  the  earth  could 
be.  It  was  generally  thought  to  be  flat.  In  the  fif- 
teenth century  there  were  many  in  every  country 
of  Europe  who  thought  that  the  world  might  be 
round,  and,  if  it  were  round,  that  there  might  be 
countries  on  the  other  side  which  they  had  never 
heard  about. 

WILL". — -"I  don't  see  why  captains  and  sailors  had 
never  come  to  other  lands  when  they  were  cruising 
about. 


POUR  HUNDRED   YEARS   AGO.  11 

MOTHER.  —  Ships  were  not  built  so  strong  in 
those  days  as  they  are  now.  Navigators  —  that  is, 
people  who  follow  the  sea  —  had  never  dared  to 
sail  very  far  from  the  land.  So  they  discovered 
only  a  few  islands  in  their  voyages. 

England  was  a  great  power  even  then,  and  owned 
many  ships.  These  ships  sometimes  went  to  Hol- 
land, or,  still  farther,  to  Russia,  through  the  Baltic 
Sea.  They  oftener  went  south,  along  the  western 


Ships  of  the  Fifteenth  Century. 

coast  of  France,  and  through  the  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar, into  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  A  few  ships  had 
ventured  still  farther  south,  cruising  along  the 
western  coast  of  Africa.  But  they  had  never  gone 
far  enough  to  learn  the  shape  of  Africa.  Still  less 
did  they  imagine  that  they  might  go  around  its 


12  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

southern  point,  and  thus  find  a  passage  by  water  to 
the  great  countries  of  Asia. 

WILL.  —  I  tell  you  what !  If  I  had  been  a  navi- 
gator in  those  days,  guess  I  would  not  have  been 
afraid  to  cruise  along  till  I  found  out  the  way  to 
Asia ! 

MOTHER.  —  And  if  you  had  been  such  a  brave 
navigator,  Will,  as  to  have  dared  to  double  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  America  might  not  have  been 
discovered  to-day. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  mother  !  I  don't  see  how  that 
could  be. 

MOTHER.  —  You  know  I  told  you  just  now  that 
most  of  the  ships  went  into  the  Mediterranean. 
The  reason  was,  that  all  the  countries  of  Europe 
carried  on  trade  with  India,  the  richest  country  of 
Asia.  But  it  took  a  long  time  to  get  anything  to 
or  from  that  distant  place  ;  for,  after  the  ships  had 
reached  the  eastern  ports  of  the  Mediterranean, 
then  all  the  merchandise  had  to  be  carried  to  the 
Red  Sea  on  the  backs  of  camels.  There  the  goods 
were  again  shipped  for  India.  This  was  a  very  ex- 
pensive way  of  trading ;  and  in  every  country  the 
merchants  were  saying,  "  Is  there  no  easier  way  to 
get  to  India  ?  " 

About  this  time  there  was  a  little  child  born  in 
Genoa,  Italy.  His  grandfather  and  many  of  his 


POUR   HUNDRED   YEARS   AGO.  13 


Loaded  Camel. 

uncles  had  followed  the  sea.  As  this  little  boy, 
whose  name  was  Christopher,  grew  older  — 

WILL.  —  Do  you  mean  Christopher  Columbus  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  I  am  talking  about  Christopher 
Columbus  when  he  was  a  little  boy;  and  I  began 
to  say  that  when  his  uncles  Avere  home  from  sea,  he 
heard  them  tell  wonderful  stories  about  the  great 
ocean.  He  used  to  Avish  he  were  a  man,  so  that  he 
could  go  to  sea,  too.  And,  sure  enough,  when  he 
became  older,  he  did  go,  and  made  many  voyages 
between  the  different  ports  in  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  Wherever  he  Avent,  he  alwaj^s  tried  to  learn 
something  new.  He  AVUS  never  ashamed  to  ask 
questions  of  those  who  were  older  than  himself,  or 
of  those  Avho  had  seen  more  of  the  world.  And  as 
he  Avas  so  often  at  the  large  cities  where  the  mer- 
chants were  receiving  goods  from  the  East,  he,  of 
course,  heard  a  great  deal  about  a  shorter  passage 
to  India. 


14  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

At  one  time  it  so  happened  that  the  ship  in  which 
Columbus  was  sailing  took  fire.  Columbus  leaped 
overboard,  and  by  the  aid  of  an  oar,  which  was 
floating  in  the  water,  he  swam  to  the  shore,  a  dis- 
tance of  six  miles. 

WILL.  —  Six  miles !  I  say,  not  many  men  could 
swim  six  miles.  Was  he  all  alone  then  on  an 
island,  like  Robinson  Crusoe? 

MOTHER. — No;  he  found  himself  in  Portugal.  He 
had  a  brother  at  Lisbon,  the  capital  of  Portugal. 
This  brother,  named  Bartolomeo,  earned  his  living 
by  making  maps  and  charts.  Columbus  went  to 
see  him. 

After  this,  Columbus  married  the  daughter  of  a 
sea  captain.  His  wife's  father  owned  a  great  many 
charts  and  nautical  instruments,  such  as  Columbus 
had  never  seen ;  so  that  he  had  a  chance  to  learn 
still  more  about  the  sea. 

LIZZIE.  —  Bat,  mother,  what  did  Columbus  do  for 
a  living  in  Portugal  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  made  maps  and  charts.  Then, 
too,  he  often  went  on  voyages  to  Africa.  When 
far  out  at  sea,  he  would  lie  on  the  deck  watching 
the  stars,  and  thinking  of  Him  who  made  them. 
He  wondered  if  the  stars  were  worlds.  Then  he 
thought  of  our  own  world,  and  wondered  if  it  were 
round  or  flat.  "  If  it  is  round,"  said  he,  "  then  we 


FOUR   HUNDRED   YEARS   AGO.  15 

might  reach  India  by  sailing  west.  Everybody 
says  that  all  Europe  needs  a  shorter  passage  to 
India.  When  men  needed  to  venture  on  the  seas 
farther  than  they  had  before  dared  to  do,  did  not 
God  give  them  the  compass,  to  tell  them  which 
way  they  were  going?  And  will  He  not  show 
men  the  shorter  route  to  India,  if  the  time  has 
come  when  they  need  it?  If  the  earth  were 
round,  we  could  sail  about  it,  and  carry  what  is  good 
and  useful  in  one  country  to  all  other  countries. 
Thus  mankind  would  be  made  wiser,  better,  and 
happier,  if  they  could  be  sure  that  the  world  is 
round.  I  know  it  must  be  round." 

After  this,  Columbus  never  doubted  that  if  he 
were  to  sail  west  from  Europe,  he  should  come  to 
India.  The  thought  haunted  him  so,  day  and  night, 
that  he  determined  to  see  if  he  could  not  get  his 
government  to  fit  out  some  vessels  for  a  voyage 
of  discovery.  "  If  there  are  new  lands  discovered," 
he  said,  "  the  flag  of  my  native  country  shall  be  the 
first  to  float  over  them."  So  he  went  to  Genoa  and 
asked  for  aid.  It  was  refused  him,  and  he  was 
laughed  at  for  his  folly. 

Then  he  got  permission  to  go  before  the  King 
of  Portugal.  He  showed  the  king  his  charts,  and 
explained  to  him  why  he  believed  the  earth  was 
round. 


16  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  I  hope  this  king  was  sensible,  and  let 
him  have  some  ships. 

MOTHER.  —  No;  on  the  contrary,  the  king  said, 
"  The  man  is  mad  !  Hasn't  everybody  always  Re- 
lieved that  the  world  was  flat?  And  does  this  poor 
fellow  know  more  than  everybody  else  ?  " 

WILL.  —  "Poor  fellow!"  Humph!  He  knew 
more  than  the  king ! 

MOTHER.  —  Columbus  was  somewhat  discouraged 
by  the  king's  refusal,  and  for  a  time  he  felt  that  per- 
haps God  had  not  chosen  him  to  show  people  that 
the  earth  was  round.  His  good  wife  died,  too ;  and 
he  was  left  all  alone  in  the  world  Avith  his  little  boy, 
Diego,  whom  he  took  with  him  wherever  he  went. 

"  I  will  leave  Portugal,  and  go  to  Spain,"  he  said. 
So  he  started  on  foot,  with  little  Diego  by  his  side, 
to  travel  to  that  country.  He  had  spent  what  little 
money  he  had  while  trying  to  get  a  hearing  with 
the  King  of  Portugal.  He  was  hungry,  tired,  and 
foot-sore,  and  was  anxious  about  little  Diego. 

LIZZIE.  —  I. know  good  Columbus  cared  more  for 
his  little  boy  than  he  did  for  himself. 

MOTHER.  —  I  think  so,  too ;  and  he  must  have 
said  to  himself,  "  Will  God  let  my  little  boy  die 
with  hunger  ?  "  •  But  at  last  he  came  to  a  monas- 
tery, where  some  good  men  lived  who  took  pleasure 
in  caring  for  tired  travellers. 


FOUR   HUNDRED   YEARS    AGO. 


17 


One  of  these  men,  Juan  Perez,  took  pity  on  Co- 
lumbus. He  said,  "  This  noble-looking  man  is  no 
common  beggar ! "  He  not  only  gave  him  and  his 
little  boy  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  but  he  became 

the  best  friend  Co- 
lumbus had  ever 
known.  Of  course 
Columbus  told  him 
all  his  history,  and 


Columbus  with  Diego  begging  at  tne  Monastery. 

how  sure  he  was  that  he  could  find  India,  if  he 
could  only  have  vessels  enough.  He  also  told 
him  how  the  King  of  Portugal  had  refused  to  aid 
him. 

Juan  Perez  said,  "How  do  you  know  but  that 
our   good    King   Ferdinand   and    his   noble    Queen 
Isabella  may  be  willing  to  listen  to  you?" 
2 


18  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

"  But,"  said  Columbus,  "  I  liave  no  one  to  help  me 
get  a  hearing  at  their  court." 

Juan  Perez  talked  over  the  grand  scheme  of  Co- 
luinbus  with  the  wisest  navigators  he  knew.  And 
when  he  found  they  believed  that  Columbus  was 
right,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  see  what 
he  himself  could  do  to  introduce  Columbus  to  the 
king  and  queen.  Now,  it  so  happened  that  Juan 
Perez  was  a  minister,  or  priest ;  and  at  one  time 
the  queen  had  sent  for  him,  to  talk  with  her  about 
heavenly  things.  So  he  was  not  a  stranger  to  the 
queen.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Isabella,  begging  her 
to  let  him  come  and  see  her. 

She  consented  ;  and  Perez  told  her  all  about  Co- 
lumbus,—  how  noble  and  good  he  was,  —  and  then 
asked  her  if  his  friend  might  come  and  tell  his  story 
for  himself. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,1  hope  Isabella  let  him  come  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  Columbus  was  allowed  to  go 
before  the  king  and  queen,  and  tell  what  great 
things  he  hoped  to  do  for  the  world. 

King  Ferdinand  was  not  very  friendly  to  Colum- 
bus ;  and  said  there  was  no  money  to  spare  for  such 
an  enterprise.  But  Isabella  believed  in  him,  and 
said,  "  He  shall  have  the  money,  even  if  I  have  to 
part  with  all  my  jewels  !  " 

WILL.  —  Good  for  Isabella !     She  thought  more 


FOUR   HUNDRED   YEARS   AGO.  19 

of  helping  Columbus  than  she  did  of  making  a  great 
show  with  her  jewels. 

MOTHER.  —  Isabella  was  worthy  of  being  a  queen, 
for  she  was  always  doing  good.  But  she  little 
thought  how  much  good  she  was  doing,  when  she 
gave  orders  to  have  vessels  fitted  out  for  Columbus. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  that  made  Columbus  a  happy 
man  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  indeed.  For  ten  years  he  had 
been  trying  to  get  help  from  the  different  govern- 
ments. 

LIZZIE.  —  Ten  years  !  Poor  man  !  I  wonder  he 
did  not  get  discouraged. 

MOTHER.  —  Great  men  are  not  easily  discouraged. 


20  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


II. 

A   BRAVE   VOYAGE,   AND   WHAT   CAME  OF   IT. 

WILL.  —  I  want  to  know  whether  little  Diego 
went  with  his  father  on  his  great  voyage. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  Diego  was  a  little  boy  no  longer. 
He  Avas  now  twenty  years  old.  The  queen  felt  so 
kindly  towards  Columbus  that  she  asked  him  if  he 
would  allow  Diego  to  become  a  page  to  her  little 
boy.  Of  course  Columbus  was  very  grateful  to 
Isabella  for  this;  for  it  was  a  great  honor  to 
Diego  to  have  the  king  and  queen  trust  the  little 
prince  with  him. 

WILL.  —  If  I  had  been  Diego,  I  should  much 
rather  have  gone  to  sea  with  my  father,  than  to 
have  staid  in  the  king's  palace  all  the  time. 

MOTHER.  —  Diego  may  have  felt  so,  too;  but 
probably  Columbus  thought  it  would  be  for  his 
son's  advantage  to  have  such  good  friends  as  the 
King  and  Queen  of  Spain  might  be  to  him. 

So  he  bade  good-by  to  Diego,  and  went  to  Palos, 
on  the  western  coast  of  Spain,  to  oversee  the  fitting 
up  of  his  ships. 


A  BRAVE  VOYAGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    21 

WILL.  —  How  many  did  he  have  ? 

MOTHER. — Three;  one  large  and  two  smaller  ones. 
It  took  three  months  to  get  them  ready  to  sail ;  for 
they  stowed  away  provisions  enough  to  last  a  whole 
year ;  and  it  was  difficult  to  find  sailors  who  were 
willing  to  start  off  on  such  an  uncertain  enterprise. 
"  If  we  go,  we  shall  never  come  back,"  they  said. 

But  finally  the  crews  were  found,  and  the  ships 
were  ready  to  start. 

WILL.  - —  Of  course  Columbus  went  in  the  largest 
ship  —  didn't  he  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  he  took  command  of  the  Santa 
Maria.  And  one  Friday  morning  in  August,  1492, 
Columbus  and  his  officers,  having  first  asked  God 
to  bless  and  guide  them,  set  sail,  directing  their 
course  west  from  Spain. 

When  night  came  on,  and  they  lost  sight  of  land, 
they  began  to  realize  what  dangers  were  before 
them. 

"  What  fools  we  were  to  come  ! "  said  the  sailors. 
"  Here  we  are,  sailing  off  into  the  darkness,  we 
know  not  where.  Even  Columbus  himself  does  not 
know ! " 

But  the  next  morning,  when  the  bright  sun  rose 
over  the  waters,  they  felt  less  afraid,  and  said,  "Per- 
haps we  may  find  a  wonderful  country." 

After  they  had   been   sailing   about  five  week.-. 


22  THE   STORY    OF   OUR    COUNTRY. 

they  saw  a  large  tree  or  mast  floating  on  the  Avater. 
This  gave  them  all  new  hope,  and  they  said,  "  We 
shall  surely  see  land  soon." 

But  in  two  weeks  after  this,  a  fearful  storm  came 
on,  which  terrified  the  crews  so  much  that  they 
said,  "  God  is  not  pleased  with  us.  Columbus  must 
turn  back.''  But  the  storm  cleared  away,  and  soon 
after  this,  all  on  board  the  ships  were  thrilled  with 
joy  as  they  heard  the  cry,  "  Land  !  land  !  " 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  mother  ! 

WILL.  —  Guess  the  sailors  did  not  think  they  had 
been  fools  then  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Columbus  was  so  overjoyed  that  he 
caused  the  anthem,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ! " 
to  be  sung  in  all  the  ships. 

But,  alas !  as  they  drew  near  the  supposed  land, 
it  proved  to  be  only  a  thick  cloud  in  the  horizon. 

After  this,  the  sailors  were  more  discouraged 
than  ever.  "  Shall  a  hundred  and  twenty  of  us 
throw  away  our  lives  for  the  sake  of  one  man  who 
has  lost  his  senses?"  said  they.  "No!  let  us  seize 
Columbus,  and  throw  him  overboard  ! " 

But  Columbus  was  not  afraid  of  the  men.  He 
went  amongst  them,  and  said,  "  My  brave  men,  I 
know  we  are  coming  to  a  glorious  land  —  a  land 
where  we  may  find  more  beautiful  treasures  than 
we  ever  dreamed  of.  Shall  we  all  turn  cowards? 


A   BRAVE   VOYAGE,   AND   WHAT   CAME   OF   IT. 


23 


What  immortal  honor  will  that  sailor  have  who 
first  spies  land !  And  if  honor  be  not  enough  for 
him,  then  shall  he  have  a  purse  of  gold." 


This  gave  the  sailors 
fresh  hope  and  courage. 
And  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  October 
12,  seventy-one  days 
after  they  had  left 
Spain,  they  were  again 
all  startled  with  joy. 

A  gun  was  fired  from  one  of  the  ships,  and  they 

heard  the  cry,  "  Land  !  land  !  land  ! " 

As  soon  as  the  light  enabled  them  to  see,  they 

found  themselves  near  a  beautiful  island.     The  air 


Arrival  of  Columbus's  Fleet. 


24  THE   STORY    OF   OUR    COUNTRY. 

was  filled  with  a  delicious  fragrance  from  unknown 
flowers.  They  saw  trees  laden  with  fruit,  such  as 
they  had  never  seen  before.  Strange,  bright  birds 
were  flitting  in  and  out  of  the  shady  groves. 

Columbus  and  all  his  men  were  enchanted.  "  One 
would  like  to  live  in  a  place  like  this  forever,"  said 
they. 

Soon  they  saw  crowds  of  half-clothed  natives  run- 
ning along  the  shore. 

"  Who  are  those  people  ? "  asked  the  sailors  of 
Columbus. 

"  They  must  be  Indians,"  said  he.  For  Columbus 
thought  they  had  reached  India. 

WILL.  —  Well,  there !  now  1  know  why  the  red 
men  of  America  are  called  Indians. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  Columbus  thought  he  had  at  last 
got  an  answer  to  the  merchants'  question,  "  How 
shall  we  find  an  easier  passage  to  India  ? " 

LIZZIE.  —  But  he  was  not  quite  right  —  Avas  he, 
mother  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  and  probably  he  himself  knew 
that  he  had  not  reached  the  trading  part  of  India. 
He  evidently  thought  he  had  found  a  portion  of 
India  that  was  unclaimed  by  any  sovereign.  For, 
with  his  heart  full  of  gratitude  to  Isabella,  without 
whose  favor  he  never  could  have  made  the  great 
discovery,  he  was  anxious  to  claim  the  new-found 


A   BRAVE   VOYAGE,   AND   WHAT   CAME   OF   IT.         25 

land  for  her.  So,  as  soon  as  the  morning  sun  gilded 
the  eastern  waters,  boats  were  lowered  from  the 
ships.  Then,  midst  the  sound  of  martial  music 
and  the  firing  of  guns,  the  three  commanders  were 
rowed  to  land. 

Columbus  first  stepped  on  the  beach.  Filled 
with  awe  and  gratitude  to  God,  he  stooped  and 
kissed  the  ground,  wetting  it  with  his  tears. 
Then,  rising  and  drawing  his  sword,  he  unfurled 
the  royal  banner,  and  took  possession  of  the  new- 
found land  in  the  name  of  the  crown  of  Spain. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  how  thankful  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
must  have  been  to  Columbus  ! 

WILL.  —  I  want  to  know  what  the  natives  did. 
Were  they  afraid? 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  when  they  saw  the  ships,  they 
supposed  them  to  be  great  birds  coming  to  them 
from  Heaven. 

LIZZIE.  —  They  must  have  thought  the  sails  were 
the  birds'  wings. 

MOTHER.  —  And  when  they  saw  Columbus  and 
his  officers  step  on  shore,  they  thought  they  were 
gods.  They  bowed  themselves  to  the  ground. 
They  kissed  Columbia's  feet.  Then  they  brought 
the  best  of  everything  they  had  to  the  new 
comers. 

WILL.  —  What  did  they  bring? 


26  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  They  brought  beautiful  flowers  ;  and 
gave  them  bananas  and  honeycomb  to  eat.  They 
spread  fresh  palm-leaves  on  the  ground  for  them 
to  lie  down  on.  They  made  their  little  children 
come  and  kiss  them.  They  showed  them  beautiful 
springs  of  water.  Then  they  invited  them  by  signs 
to  their  little  houses,  which  were  huts  or  wigwams. 
In  short,  these  poor,  simple  natives  did  everything- 
in  their  power  to  show  that  they  were  glad  to  see 
the  strangers. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  hope  Columbus  treated  them  well. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  One  day  a  sailor  was  unkind  to 
one  of  the  natives.  Columbus  was  very  angry.  Ho 
invited  the  Indian  on  board  his  ship,  and  gave  him 
beads  and  other  trinkets.  Then  he  let  him  go  back 
to  the  shore.  The  sailors  watched  him  through  a 
spy- glass,  to  see  what  he  would  do. 

WILL.  —  What  did  he  do  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  put  on  all  the  finery  which  Colum- 
bus had  given  him.  Then  he  strutted  up  and  down 
the  shore,  to  show  himself  off  to  the  other  natives. 

Now  look  on  your  maps,  and  find  where  Columbus 
first  landed.  He  called  the  island  San  Salvador. 

WILL.  —  Why,  that  is  in  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  —  one  of  the  West  Indies  —  isn't  it? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  and  can  you  not  tell  now,  Lizzie, 
why  those  islands  are  called  the  West  Indies  ? 


A   BRAVE   VOYAGE,    AND   WHAT    CAME   OF   IT.         27 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  I  see  !     Columbus  thought  at  first  he 
had  found  India. 


The  Voyage  of  Columbus. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes :  and  India  is  sometimes  called 
the  East  Indies. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  the  country  Columbus  found  by- 
sailing  west  from  Spain  they  called  the  West 

Indies. 


28  THE  STORY   OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  quite  right.  Look  once  more 
on  the  map,  and  find  the  other  islands  discovered 
by  Columbus.  They  are  Conception,  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  Exuma,  Cuba,  and  Hayti.  He  must  have 
liked  the  looks  of  Hayti,  for  when  he  reached  here, 
he  took  to  pieces  his  largest  ship,  the  Santa  Maria, 
and  built  a  fort,  calling  the  island  Hispaniola,  or 
Little  Spain. 

He  cruised  about  the  islands  for  three  months, 
and  then  went  back  to  Spain,  taking  some  of  the 
natives  with  him. 


WHAT   AFTERWARDS   HAPPENED   TO    COLUMBUS.      29 


III. 

WHAT  AFTERWARDS  HAPPENED  TO  COLUMBUS. 

WILL.  —  We  want  to  hear  more  about  Columbus, 
and  how  he  was  treated  when  he  got  back  to  Spain. 

MOTHER.  —  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  as  delightful 
things  about  his  life  as  you  heard  in  our  last  talk ; 
but  I  must  tell  you  the  truth,  though  it  is  not  always 
pleasant  to  hear. 

When  Columbus  first  reached  Spain,  ten  weeks 
after  he  left  Hayti,  or  Hispaniola,  he  was  received 
with  a  great  deal  of  attention.  The  king  and  queen 
and  all  the  court  people  heard  him  tell  his  adven- 
tures with  as  much  interest  as  you  listen  to  me. 
The  king  appointed  him  governor  of  Hispaniola, 
and  placed  him  in  command  of  seventeen  ships 
and  fifteen  hundred  men,  to  go  back  and  make 
other  discoveries.  His  brother  Bartolomeo  went 
with  him. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  am  sure,  mother,  he  had  good  luck. 

MOTHER.  —  So  he  had,  up  to  this  point;  but  after 
this  everything  seemed  to  go  against  him.  It 
was  not  so  easy  for  Columbus  to  manage  fifteen 


30  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

hundred  men  as  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Many 
of  the  men  were  envious  because  they  had  never 
made  great  discoveries.  Then,  too,  they  thought 
they  should  find  gold  and  precious  stones  lying 
about  on  the  ground  as  common  as  pebbles ;  be- 
cause they  saw  that  the  natives  whom  Columbus 
brought  back  wore  rich  jewels  on  their  necks. 

WILL.  —  They  were  not  very  bright  to  think  so, 
any  how.  They  might  have  known  that  the  Indi- 
ans wouldn't  care  anything  about  gold,  if  it  was  as 
plenty  as  dust.  They  would  n't  think  any  more  of 
it  than  they  would  of  common  stones  in  the  street. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  perfectly  right,  Will.  And 
you  will  always  find  that  men  value  things  just  in 
proportion  as  the  things  are  hard  to  get.  But 
these  foolish  men  did  not  think  of  this.  They 
wanted  to  become  rich  without  working ;  and  be- 
cause they  found  they  could  not  do  this,  they  hated 
Columbus,  and  said  he  was  a  traitor  and  a  liar. 
They  even  tried  to  take  his  life. 

WILL.  —  Then  they  were  meaner  than  the  sailors 
who  wanted  to  throw  him  overboard ;  for  they  were 
afraid  for  their  own  lives.  But  these  men  were 
already  in  the  beautiful  new  country. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  Will ;  and  when  Columbus,  after 
trying  for  three  years,  found  it  was  impossible  to 
satisfy  them  in  any  way,  he  made  up  his  mind 


WHAT   AFTERWARDS   HAPPENED   TO    COLUMBUS.      31 

to  go  back  to  Spain,  first  having  discovered  the 
Windward  Islands,  Jamaica,  and  Porto  Rico.  He 
also  founded  a  colony  in  Hispaniola,  and  left  it  in 
command  of  his  brother  Bartolomeo. 

LIZZIE.  —  Wasn't  the  king  glad  to  see  Columbus 
this  time  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Not  so  glad  as  before.  The  men  who 
returned  with  him  said  untrue  things  about  him. 
And  then,  too,  the  king  expected  he  would  have 
made  greater  discoveries  on  this  voyage  than  on 
the  first. 

WILL.  —  Perhaps  Ferdinand  thought  that  as  he 
let  him  have  ten  times  as  many  men,  he  ought  to 
have  discovered  just  so  many  more  new  countries 
to  pay  for  it. 

MOTHER.  —  Perhaps  so.  The  king  does  not  seem 
to  have  lost  confidence  in  him  entirely,  though  his 
coolness  hurt  Columbus  very  much.  Isabella  still 
believed  in  him ;  and  it  was  through  her  influence 
that  money  was  raised  for  another  voyage. 

He  remained  in  Spain  about  two  years,  and  then 
returned  across  the  Atlantic,  this  time  with  six  ships. 
Instead  of  going  directly  back  to  the  West  Indies, 
he  bore  farther  south,  till  he  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  remember  that  river.  It  is  in  South 
America. 


32  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  And  when  Columbus  saw  what 
a  wonderful  river  it  was,  and  what  beautiful  flowers 
and  magnificent  trees  grew  along  its  banks,  and 
what  bright-plumed  birds  were  in  the  trees,  he 
said,  "  This  must  be  the  river  that  flows  through 
the  Garden  of  Eden  !  " 

His  health  was  then  very  poor;  so  he  went  to 
Hispaniola  to  rest.  But  the  poor  man  had  any- 
thing but  rest  there.  He  found  great  confusion 
on  the  island.  Every  one  wanted  to  please  him- 
self, and  would  not  mind  Bartolomeo,  who  was  lieu- 
tenant governor  in  Columbus's  absence. 

King  Ferdinand  heard  of  the  troubles  in  Hispan- 
iola, and  sent  over  an  officer  to  inquire  into  affairs 
there.  But  the  officer,  before  making  any  inquiries, 
arrested  Columbus  and  his  brother,  and  put  them 
in  chains. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  how  cruel ! 

MOTHER.  —  Columbus  was  thrown  into  prison, 
where  he  was  confined  many  weary  months. 

One  day  he  asked  of  an  officer  who  came  to  lead 
him  from  his  cell,  "  Are  you  taking  me  to  death  ?  " 

"  Your  excellency  is  to  be  conducted  to  Spain," 
was  the  answer. 

WILL.  —  Columbus  taken  to  Spain  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  and  in  chains.  The  officers  on 
board  the  ship  were  ashamed  of  the  insults  heaped 


WHAT   AFTERWARDS    HAPPENED    TO    COLUMBUS.       33 

upon  him.  They  felt  their  own  littleness  in  the 
presence  of  this  brave  discoverer  —  this  greatest 
man  of  the  age.  They  offered  to  free  him  from  his 
chains.  But  Columbus  said,  sadly  and  proudly, — 

"  No !  I  will  wear  them  as  a  memento  of  the 
gratitude  of  princes  !  " 

LIZZIE.  —  But,  mother,  what  was  the  king  think- 
ing of?  Columbus  on  this  voyage  had  discovered 
the  continent  of  South  America. 

MOTHER.  —  The  king  seems  to  have  thought  little 
of  this.  It  is  true  that  when  Columbus  arrived  in 
Spain,  the  king  gave  orders  to  have  him  immedi- 
ately released.  But  Ferdinand  was  dissatisfied,  and 
appointed  another  man  governor  of  Hispaniola. 

LIZZIE.  —  Didn't  Isabella  do  something  for  Colum- 
bus then  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  noble  queen  never  lost  faith  in 
him ;  and  when  she  first  saw  him  after  his  arrest, 
she  felt  so  much  pity  for  him  that  she  wept. 

WILL.  —  I  believe  in  Isabella ! 

MOTHER.  —  Her  generous  sympathy  did  much 
towards  reviving  the  courage  of  Columbus.  She 
again  fitted  him  out  for  a  voyage  at  her  own  ex- 
pense, taking  money  which  she  had  intended  to 
use  at  the  wedding  of  her  daughter  Isabella.  And 
Columbus  started  off  on  his  third  voyage. 

This  time  he  was  in  command  of  only  four  ships 
3 


34  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  His  object  was  to 
search  for  a  passage  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
He  stopped  at  Hispaniola,  but  was  refused  admis- 
sion to  the  island.  After  cruising  about  for  two 
years  on  the  south  coast  of  the  gulf,  he  was  driven 
by  famine  and  other  hardships  back  to  Spain. 

Isabella,  his  best  friend,  was  dead.  He  was  now 
seventy  years  old,  poor,  and  out  of  health.  He  had 
no  home  to  go  to,  and  had  scarcely  money  enough 
to  pay  for  a  lodging. 

"  The  king  knows  it  all,  but  does  mot  care,"  he 
said  to  himself. 

But  through  all  his  misfortunes,  Columbus  never 
lost  his  trust  in  God. 

"  Into  thy  hands,  0  'Lord,  do  I  commit  my  spirit," 
were  his  last  words. 

Thus  this  greatest  of  discoverers  died  in  poverty, 
and  almost  alone.  For  a  long  time  scarcely  any  one 
knew  where  his  body  was  laid.  But  alter  seven 
years  the  king  felt  ashamed  not  to  have  noticed 
his  death.  So  he  caused  a  marble  tomb  to  be 
erected  over  his  remains,  with  the  words  inscribed 
upon  it,  "  To  CASTILE  AND  LEON  COLUMBUS  GAVE  A 
NEW  WORLD." 

LIZZIE.  —  Doesn't  Spain  own  very  much  laud  in 
America  now? 

WILL.  —  Not  much,  and  I  am  glad  of  it. 


WHAT   AFTERWARDS   HAPPENED   TO   COLUMBUS.      35 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  Spain  now  owns  but  two  of  the 
West  India  islands,  though  she  formerly  owned  a 
large  part  of  South  America.  Will  says  he  is  glad 
Spain  does  not  own  much  on  this  continent,  since, 
through  her  ingratitude  to  Columbus,  she  threw 
away  her  chance  of  owning  the  whole  of  it,  or  at 
least  of  laying  claim  to  it. 

I  am  glad,  too,  that  Spain  did  not  get  a  stronger 
foothold  on  this  continent ;  but  not  for  the  same 
reasons  as  yours,  Will.  If  the  Spaniards  had  ruled 
here,  we,  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  might  not 
have  enjoyed  such  privileges  as  we  now  enjoy. 

At  another  time  I  shall  tell  you  how  the  other 
countries  of  Europe  began  to  lay  claim  to  American 
soil.  Before  we  close  this  talk,  you  will  be  inter- 
ested to  know  that  the  remains  of  Columbus  having 
been  twice  removed  from  their  resting-place,  were 
finally  conveyed  with  great  pomp  to  the  cathedral 
of  Havana,  where  they  now  repose. 

WILL.  —  I  want  to  know  why  our  country  was  n't 
named  after  Columbus.  It  seems  to  me  that  it 
ought  to  have  been. 

MOTHER.  —  It  does  seem  so ;  and  the  poet  must 
have  thought  so  when  he  wrote, — 

"  Hail,  Columbia,  happy  land !  " 

This    country  was    called    America  in   honor  of 


36  THE  STORY   OP    OUR   COUNTRY. 

Americus  Vespucius,  who  sailed  across  the  ocean 
seven  years  after  Columbus's  great  discoveries. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  think  it  was  fair,  to  honor  Amer- 
icus Vespucius  more  than  Columbus.  It  was  no 
great  feat  to  follow  in  another  man's  footsteps. 

MOTHER.  —  So  I  think.  All  the  world  knows  that 
Columbus  was  the  greater  hero  of  the  two. 

LIZZIE.  —  Mother,  I  want  to  know  what  became  of 
Diego.  Was  he  alive  when  Columbus  died? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  He  afterwards  claimed  from  the 
king  the  rights  that  had  been  granted  and  then 
taken  from  his  father.  He  thus  became  Governor 
of  Hispaniola.  He  soon  after  married  the  daughter 
of  a  duke.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  quiet  life,  quite 
unlike  the  daring,  enterprising  life  his  father  had 
lived. 


MORE   DISCOVERIES.  37 


IV. 

MORE   DISCOVERIES. 

MOTHER.  —  We  have  seen  th#,t  Spain  was  the  first 
European  country  that  laid  claim  to  the  lands  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  But  while  the  Spanish  flag 
was  flying  in  the  West  Indies,  the  kings  of  the 
other  countries  in  Europe  were  saying,  "  Would 
that  Columbus  had  been  a  subject  of  ours  ! " 

WILL.  —  I  wonder  if  Columbus  would  have  met 
with  no  better  luck,  if  he  had  done  as  much  for 
some  other  king. 

MOTHER.  —  We  cannot  know  that ;  but  I  do  know 
that  the  next  adventurer  who  went  across  the  sea 
to  claim  land  for  his  king,  died  also  a  poor,  forgotten 
man. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  mother,  who  was  that  ? 

MOTHER.  —  His  name  was  John  Cabot.  He,  too, 
was  born  in  Italy,  but  he  had  gone  to  live  in  Eng- 
land. As  Columbus  had  proved  that  the  world  was 
round,  it  was  not  difficult  for  John  Cabot  to  get 
leave  of  the  King  of  England  to  go  across  the  seas 
to  discover  other  new  lands. 


38  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

"  Columbus  did  not  find  the  main  land  of  India  — 
only  the  islands  this  side  of  it,"  said  Cabot.  "  Who 
knows  but  that  I  can  discover  the  trading  part  of 
India ! " 

So  John  Cabot  and  his  three  sons,  in  the  year 
1497,  started  off  in  a  single  vessel  to  try  their  for- 
tunes in  the  western  world.  After  they  had  been 
sailing  a  month,  they  reached  the  northern  part  of 
the  continent  of  North  America. 

LIZZIE.  —  In  1497?  Why,  that  was  one  year  be- 
fore Columbus  discovered  South  America. 

WILL.  —  But  five  years  after  he  had  proved  that 
there  was  land  across  the  water. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Cabots  really  discovered  the  main 
land  of  America  before  Columbus  did.  But  I  feel 
we  must  give  all  the  honor  to  Columbus.  Later  dis- 
coverers were  cheered  on  by  what  they  knew  had 
been  done  by  other  men.  Columbus,  calm  and  brave, 
relied  only  on  the  voice  of  God  in  his  own  heart. 

WILL.  —  Did  the  Cabots  stay  long  on  the  conti- 
nent ? 

MOTHER.  —  No,  they  did  not.  They  sailed  along 
the  coast  far  enough  to  be  convinced  that  they  had 
found  a  continent;  then,  as  they  were  getting  short 
of  provisions,  they  returned  to  England. 

"  We  did  not  find  India,"  they  said  to  the  king ; 
"  but  we  think  we  found  China." 


MORE    DISCOVERIES. 


39 


This  pleased  the  English  king,  Henry  VII.,  very 
much ;  and  he  said,  "  Go  back  again  with  six  large 
ships,  and  find  other  lands." 

But  John  Cabot   died    soon   after   this.     So  the 


Cabot's  Snips  among  the  Icebergs. 

most    enterprising  of   his   sons,   Sebastian    Cabot, 
made  the  voyage. 

"  We  shall  surely  now  find  the  shorter  passage  to 
India,"  said  Henry  VII. 


40  THE   STORY   0?   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Sebastian  Cabot  sailed  to  the  far  north,  enduring 
great  hardships  amongst  the  icebergs.  Then  he 
sailed  along  the  coast  as  far  south  as  Florida.  Ho 
landed  upon  the  continent  in  several  places,  and 
planted  the  English  flag. 

"  This  is  the  most  immense  country  the  world 
ever  dreamed  of ! "  said  Sebastian. 

WILL.  —  It  seems  to  me  Sebastian  Cabot  must 
have  had  a  strange  sort  of  feeling  when  he  was 
putting  those  flags  along  the  coast.  Just  think ! 
All  that  great  country,  and  no  white  man  ever 
there  before  ! 

LIZZIE.  —  Don't  you  believe  he  was  afraid  ? 

WILL.  —  Afraid?  No!  What  was  there  to  be 
afraid  of?  Only  wild  animals.  And  of  course  his 
gun  would  keep  those  oft'.  I  know  what  I  should 
have  kept  thinking,  if  I  had  been  Sebastian  Cabot. 

MOTHER.  —  Well,  what  ? 

WILL.  —  I  should  have  said  to  myself,  "  What 
will  Henry  VII.  say  when  I  get  back  to  England, 
and  tell  him  of  this  great  country?" 

MOTHER.  —  When  Henry  VII.  was  told  that  Se- 
bastian had  not  found  India,  he  was  vexed,  and  said, 
"  The  voyage  was  a  failure/' 

WILL.  —  I  didn't  know  before  that  kings  could 
be  so  stupid. 

MOTHER.  —  One  reason  why  the  English  king  was 


MORE   DISCOVERIES.  41 

disappointed,  was  because  Portugal  had  become 
famous  in  discoveries  through  Vasco  da  Gama. 
This  man,  fitted  out  by  the  Portuguese  govern- 
ment, had  reached  India  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  And  all  Europe  was  rejoicing  that  the 
passage  to  India  by  water  had  been  found. 

LIZZIE.  —  Didn't  Sebastian  Cabot  fare  any  better 
than  Columbus  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Not  in  the  treatment  he  received  from 
Henry  VII.  Upon  that  king's  death,  Sebastian  was 
called  to  Spain  by  Ferdinand. 

WILL.  —  Ah,  ha  !  I  guess  Ferdinand  began  to 
think  he  had  n't  made  out  of  Columbus  all  that  he 
might  have  done. 

MOTHER.  —  Perhaps  so.  At  any  rate,  he  always 
treated  Sebastian  Cabot  with  honor.  He  made  him 
Pilot  Major  of  Spain  ;  and  no  ship  was  allowed  to 
sail  to  the  West  Indies  that  Cabot  had  not  examined 
and  approved. 

LIZZIE.  —  Didn't  Sebastian  Cabot  ever  goto  Amer- 
ica again  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  his  voyage  was  not  a  very  suc- 
cessful one,  however. 

Sebastian  Cabot  was  second  only  to  Columbus 
among  the  many  adventurers  who  crossed  the  At- 
lantic. He  braved  dangers  and  hardships  not  for 
his  own  sake.  Like  Columbus,  he  hoped  thereby 


42  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

to  benefit  the  world.  He  lived  to  be  an  old  man ; 
but  to  the  last  he  was  full  of  enthusiasm  about  the 
new-found  world. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land. Queen  Mary  was  then  upon  the  throne. 
Under  her  patronage  a  party  of  discoverers  were 
about  to  start  off  for  America.  Sebastian  Cabot 
rejoiced  at  this  almost  as  much  as  if  he  were  going 
himself. 

*'  I  am  too  old  to  go,"  he  said.  "  I  may  not  live 
to  hear  you  tell  your  adventures.  But  my  heart 
goes  with  you." 

On  the  eve  of  their  sailing  he  went  on  board  their 
ship,  and  gave  each  one  of  the  crew  a  handsome 
sum  of  money.  Then,  going  on  shore,  he  invited 
the  whole  ship's  company  to  a  supper.  After  the 
supper  they  had  a  dance ;  and  the  dear  old  man, 
then  eighty-one  years  old,  got  up  and  joined  in 
the  merry-making.  His  heart  grew  young  at  the 
thought  that  other  men  might  make  still  greater 
discoveries  than  he  had  done. 

WILL.  —  He  was  better  off  than  Columbus ;  for 
he  had  no  money  to  treat  his  friends  with,  if  he  had 
wanted  to. 

MOTHER.  —  True.  Queen  Mary  provided  Sebas- 
tian Cabot  with  a  comfortable  living.  But  England 
did  not  then  realize  all  that  he  had  done.  Her 


MORE   DISCOVERIES.  43 

queens  and  kings,  however  little  they  may  have 
done,  are  mouldering  to-day  under  gorgeous  monu- 
ments^ but  no  one  knows  the  burial-place  of  him 
who  gave  England  a  continent. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  every  king  in  Europe 
would  have  wanted  to  own  land  in  America. 
Didn't  any  other  kings  send  ships  over  to  make 
discoveries? 

MOTHER.  —  The  King  of  France  was  the  next  to 
lay  claim  to  a  part  of  the  continent.  Seven  years 
after  the  discoveries  by  the  Cabots,  a  number  of 
humble  fishermen  from  the  northern  part  of  France 
went  to  Newfoundland,  and  established  a  success- 
ful fishing  trade.  And  thirty-seven  years  after 
the  English  flags  were  planted  on  the  coast,  the 
French  flag  was  flying  over  the  country  we  now 
call  Canada. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  there  were  only  three  kings  own- 
ing land  in  America. 

MOTHER.  —  True;  the  kings  of  England,  France, 
and  Spain.  For  a  number  of  years  after  the  time 
we  are  now  talking  of,  France  owned  Canada. 
England  owned  the  country  along  the  coast,  and 
for  some  distance  inland,  between  Canada  and 
Florida.  Spain  claimed  the  West  Indies,  and  all 
the  country  around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

WILL.  —  It  must  have  been  good  fun  to  go  over 


44  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

to  a  new  country  and  explore,  and  see  what  one 
could  find.  I  suppose  that  is  how  America  got  to 
be  so  full  of  people  afterwards.  I  should  have 
liked  it,  I  tell  you!  —  to  follow  up  the  rivers  that 
you  knew  were  not  on  the  maps,  and  climb  the 
mountains,  to  see  what  kind  of  a  country  it  was  ! 
And  then  I  should  like  to  hunt  for  gold  and  pre- 
cious stones,  and  get  acquainted  with  the  Indians. 

MOTHER.  —  Ah,  my  boy  !  you  little  know  the  hard- 
ships one  has  to  suifer  in  going  to  a  new  country  ! 
I  shall  try  to  give  you  an  idea  of  it  in  telling  you  of 
the  first  settlements. 

LIZZIE.  —  Well,  mother,  did  the  people  go  over 
to  America  because  they  thought  they  would  like 
there  just  what  Will  says  he  would  like? 

MOTHER.  —  There  seem  to  have  been  three  dif- 
ferent reasons  why  people  went  over  from  Europe 
to  America.  Columbus  and  several  navigators  after 
him  went  to  find  a  western  passage  to  the  East  In- 
dies. When  a  passage  had  been  found  to  India  by 
going  around  Africa,  then  the  cry  was,  "  Let  us  go 
to  America  for  gold  !  " 

But  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  no  comfortable 
homes  were  established  in  America  till  people 
went  —  not  for  discovery,  not  for  gold,  but  for 
freedom  —  freedom  to  have  such  governments  as 
the  people  needed,  and  freedom  to  worship  God. 


MORE   DISCOVERIES. 


45 


LIZZIE.  —  Didn't  the  people  have  freedom  in 
Europe  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  not  have  such  freedom  as  we 
have  in  this  country.  Only  kings  and  nobles  were 
rich  there ;  they  lived  lives  of  ease,  and  were  sup- 
ported by  the  poor  people,  who  had  to  work  hard 
all  the  time,  and  then  did  not  have  enough  to  eat. 

WILL.  —  What !  these  poor  people  had  to  give 
their  money  to  the  rich  ?  I  would  not  stand  that ! 

MOTHER. —  That  is  the  way  kings  have  been  sup- 
ported. But  when  people  heard  that  there  was  a 
beautiful  great  country  across  the  waters,  they  be- 
gan to  say,  "  Wouldn't  it  be  better  to  go  and  try  our 
fortunes  there,  rather  than  to  stay  here,  where  we 
know  we  shall  be  poor  and  half  starved  all  our 
days  ? ;?  So  America  began  to  grow. 


Crossing  the  Ocean. 


46  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


V. 

TRYING   TO    MAKE    HOMES    IN   AMERICA. 

MOTEIER.  —  About  one  hundred  years  after  Amer- 
ica was  discovered,  there  was  a  very  wise  queen  on 
the  throne  of  England,  whose  name  was  Elizabeth. 
She  seemed  always  anxious  to  do  what  seemed  for 
the  glory  of  her  country.  She  had  thought  a  great 
deal  about  America.  She  said  to  herself,  "  Who 
knows  but  these  lands  in  America  may  bring 
wealth  to  my  people?"  So  when  one  of  her 
favorites,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  —  handsome,  kind, 
and  brave  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  —  asked  if  he  might 
try  to  make  homes  for  the  English  people  in  Amer- 
ica, Elizabeth  was  very  glad.  She  gave  him  the 
privilege  of  fitting  out  ships,  and  sending  such 
things  as  were  needed  to  make  people  comfortable 
in  their  new  homes. 

Raleigh  loved  and  honored  his  queen.  For  her 
sake  he  was  anxious  to  do  everything  in  his  power 
for  the  good  of  England.  This  is  one  reason  why 
he  was  interested  in  settling  America.  He  said, 
"  America  would  be  a  precious  jewel  in  the  crown 


TRYING    TO    MAKE    HOMES   IN   AMERICA. 


47 


of  our  queen,  if  it  could  be  settled  and  made  pros- 
perous by  her  English  subjects.  I  will  work  for 
this.  I  will  use  my  money  to  fit  out  ships.  1  will 
do  all  I  can  to  attract  people  to  America." 


Raleigh  before  Queen  Elizabeth.. 

And  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  more  to  do  with 
colonizing  this  country  than  any  other  man.  Still, 
all  the  settlements  made  by  the  people  he  sent 
over  were  failures. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  why,  if  they  had  provisions 
—  that  is,  if  they  did  not  go  too  far  north. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  not  go  too  far  north,  nor  too 


48  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

far  south.  They  landed  in  a  pleasant  season  of  the 
year.  But  one  great  cause  of  their  troubles  was, 
that  they  were  not  kind  to  the  natives.  At  one 
time  these  first  settlers  came  to  a  little  Indian 
town.  They  missed  a  silver  cup.  Of  course  they 
knew  some  Indian  had  taken  it.  And  what  do  you 
suppose  the  white  people  did  in  return? 

LIZZIE. —  I  guess  they  tried  to  find  out  which 
Indian  had  stolen  it,  and  then  punished  him. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  they  at  once  set  fire  to  the  whole 
town,  and  burned  it  to  the  ground  ;  and  then  they 
set  fire  to  their  fields  of  corn. 

WILL.  —  Bui,  mother,  what  was  Raleigh  doing  ? 
I  thought  you  said  he  was  a  good  man. 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  a  good  man,  one  who  was 
always  kind  to  others.  But  he  was  not  with  the 
settlers.  Queen  Elizabeth  thought  so  much  of  him, 
she  could  not  spare  him  from  England. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  did  the  Indians  do,  when  they  saw 
their  town  burned  down  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  only  went  away  to  find  another 
place  to  live  in.  But  they  never  forgot  this  cruelty. 
They  said  to  themselves,  "  We  know  now  that  these 
pale-faced  strangers  are  cruel.  We  cannot  trust 
them." 

These  first  settlers  did  not  stay  long  after  this. 
They  went  back  to  England.  But  they  gave  such 


TRYING   TO   MAKE   HOMES   IN   AMERICA.  49 

glowing  accounts  of  the  country  —  of  its  fine  soil, 
its  beautiful  trees,  and  its  rich  fruits  —  that  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  very  much  pleased.  And  she  said, 
"  This  place  shall  be  named  Virginia,  in  honor  of 
me."  For  Elizabeth  was  called  the  Virgin  Queen. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  guess  Raleigh  was  happy  when  he 
saw  how  pleased  the  queen  was. 

WILL.  —  If  these  people  liked  the  country  so 
well,  why  didn't  they  go  back  to  it? 

MOTHER.  —  Some  of  them  did  go  back ;  and  a 
great  many  others  went  with  them.  The  most  of 
these  never  left  America  again. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  mother,  I  thought  .you  said  the 
settlement  was  a  failure.  How  could  it  be  if  some 
really  staid  in  Virginia  ? 

MOTHER.  —  This  is  the  saddest  part  of  my  story 
to-night.  About  a  hundred  of  the  last  settlers, 
men,  women,  and  children,  finding  that  their  pro- 
visions were  giving  out,  begged  their  governor  to 
go  back  to  England  and  get  more  supplies. 

"  I  must  not  go  and  leave  you,"  said  the  gov- 
ernor ;  "  I  must  stay  here  to  help  you." 

"  But,"  said  the  settlers,  "  if  you  stay  here,  we 
shall  all  starve.  It  is  better  that  you  should  go 
back  for  more  provisions." 

So  the  governor  returned  to  England,  leaving 
with  the  settlers  his  own  daughter  and  her  baby 
4 


50  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

girl, —  the  first  white  child  boni  in  America,  —  little 
Virginia  Dare. 

\  "  We  are  glad  the  governor  leaves  his  daughter 
and  his  little  grandchild  amongst  us,"  they  said ; 
"  we  know  he  will  come  back  quickly  to  help  us." 

WILL.  — Well,  didn't  he? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes  ;  but  he  was  delayed.  And  when 
the  ships  got  back  to  America,  not  a  single  white 
person  could  be  found.  It  was  never  known 
whether  they  went  to  live  with  the  Indians,  or 
whether  they  starved  to  death. 

So,  Lizzie,  you  see  I  was  right  in  saying  that 
many  of  the  settlers  did  not  return  to  England,  and 
yet  the  Virginia  settlement  was  a  failure. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see  now.     It  was  very  sad. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  Raleigh  would  have  felt 
bad  about  it. 

MOTHER.  —  He  did;  and  it  is  said  he  sent  out 
companies  of  men  five  different  times,  hoping  they 
might  find  the  missing  ones.  But  the  poor  settlers 
were  never  heard  of  again. 

WILL.  —  I  thought  you  said  Raleigh  had  more  to 
do  with  colonizing  America  than  any  other  man.  I 
don't  see  that  he  really  did  much. 

MOTHER.  —  He  did  not  succeed  in  giving  any  last- 
ing homes  to  the  European  people,  it  is  true;  but 
those  whom  he  sent  over  brought  back  three  things 


TRYING   TO   MAKE   HOMES   IN   AMERICA.  51 

which  had  a  great  influence  on  both  countries  after- 
wards. 

First,  potatoes  had  never  been  seen  in  Europe 
till  Raleigh  caused  them  to  be  brought  over. 
There  had  been  terrible  famines  in  Europe  before 
this.  But  since  people  have  found  how  easily  po- 
tatoes can  be  raised,  the  poor  have  not  suffered  so 
much  for  want  of  food. 

In  the  next  place,  Raleigh  brought  over  tobacco 
from  America. 

WILL.  —  Why,  did  not  people  ever  use  tobacco 
till  then? 

MOTHER. — Never  in  Europe.  The  English  learned 
the  habit  of  smoking  from  the  Indians,  and  at  first  it 
seemed  quite  a  strange  thing  in  England. 

One  day  Raleigh  was  smoking.  His  servant 
came  into  the  room,  and  as  he  had  never  seen 
any  one  smoke  before,  he  was  very  much  fright- 
ened. He  thought  his  master  was  on  fire.  Ho 
rushed  out  of  the  room,  seized  a  bucket  of  water, 
and  running  back,  threw  it  over  Sir  Walter. 

LIZZIE.  —  That  is  what  you  would  want  to  do  to 
Will,  if  you  saw  him  smoking —  isn't  it,  mother?" 

MOTHER.  —  I  hope  there  will  never  be  any  occa- 
sion to  try  it. 

WILL? —  What  was  the  third  thing  you  were 
going  to  speak  of? 


52  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  This  is  not  so  easy  to  tell  you  about ; 
and  yet  it  was  more  important  than  either  of  the 
other  two.  We  might  say  that  the  third  thing 
Raleigh  brought  to  England  was  "  good  news  from 
America."  For  every  time  a  ship  returned,  all  the 
people  on  board  would  tell  what  a  lovely  country 
America  was  !  how  easy  it  was  to  raise  corn  !  and 
what  great  tracts  of  land  one  could  get  to  own  just 
by  sailing  over  there  ! 

No  poor  man  could  own  land  in  Europe.  And  to 
know  that  there  were  millions  of  acres  of  land  in 
America  which  no  one  was  using,  made  many  want 
to  go  there.  Before  Raleigh's  day  it  was  a  great 
affair  to  sail  across  the  Atlantic.  But  Raleigh  sent 
out  so  many  ships,  and  they  came  back  so  quickly, 
that  people  said,  "  It  is  not  such  a  difficult  thing  to 
go  to  America,  after  all.  We  will  go  and  see  the 
country  ;  and  if  we  do  not  like  it,  we  can  come  back 
in  a  little  while." 

So  we  can  see  that  Raleigh  opened  the  way,  and 
made  it  easy  for  other  settlers  to  go  to  America. 

.WILL.  —  I  don't  see  why  none  of  those  sent  over 
by  Raleigh  had  good  luck. 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  because  there  were  no  men 
among  them  fit  to  be  leaders.  We  always  find 
that  any  great  enterprise  will  fail,  if  there*  be  not 
one  man  engaged  in  it  who  can  think  and  plan  for 
the  rest. 


TRYING   TO   MAKE   HOMES   IN   AMERICA.  53 

Can  you  tell  me  now  what  place  in  the  United 
States  will  always  remind  you  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  ? 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  you  mean  Raleigh,  the  capi- 
tal of  North  Carolina. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  this  city  was  named  for  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  and  it  is  built  on  the  very  spot 
where  those  poor  emigrants  lived  who  were  never 
heard  of  after  their  governor  went  back  to  England. 

WILL.  —  You  said  a  moment  ago  that  the  settlers 
landed  in  Virginia.  Now  you  say  they  were  at 
Raleigh  in  North  Carolina. 

MOTHER.  —  I  see  why  you  are  puzzled.  Virginia 
once  included  North  and  South  Carolina,  which 
were  afterwards  made  into  separate  states. 

LIZZIE.  —  But,  mother,  I  want  to  know  what  be- 
came of  Raleigh.  Was  Queen  Elizabeth  displeased 
because  he  could  not  make  the  people  stay  in 
America  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  queen  was  very  angry  with  him 
n.t  one  time,  but  not  for  that  reason.  He  married 
a  lady  without  asking  Elizabeth  if  he  might.  This 
vexed  her  so  much  that  she  caused  him  to  be  put 
into  prison.  She  pardoned  him  afterwards  ;  but  Sir 
Walter  was  never  again  a  favorite  at  court.  And 
during  the  reign  of  the  next  sovereign,  James  I., 
Raleigh  was  beheaded,  after  having  been  im- 


54  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

prisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London  for  thirteen 
years.  When  we  were  in  London  we  saw  the 
little  cell  in  which  Raleigh  spent  so  many  lonely 
years.  And  we  were  sorry  that  so  good  and  brave 
a  man  —  one  who  took  so  much  interest  in  settling 
our  country  —  should  have  had  such  a  gloomy  end. 


A   COLONY   WITH   A   LEADER.  55 


VI. 

A   COLONY   WITH    A    LEADER. 

WILL.  —  Mother,  I  want  to  hear  how  the  next 
settlement  in  America  succeeded.  Was  it  long 
after  Raleigh  gave  up  trying  to  colonize  Virginia? 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  about  eighteen  years  before 
any  more  people  tried  to  colonize.  Do  you  re- 
member why  the  ftrst  settlement  was  a  failure? 

WILL.  —  You  said  it  was  because  there  was  no 
man  fit  to  be  a  leader. 

MOTHER.  —  Then  if  I  tell  you  that  the  next  settle- 
ment was  a  success,  you  will  know  it  was  because 
there  was  one  man  who  could  think  and  plan  for 
the  rest. 

LIZZIE. — Now  I  guess  we  are  going  to  hear  some- 
thing interesting ! 

WILL.  —  Because  we  are  going  to  hear  about  a 
smart  man. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes  ;  I  am  going  to  tell  you  about  a 
brave  man.  His  name  was  Captain  John  Smith. 

WILL.  —  Captain  !     Was  he  a  navigator,  too  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No:  he  was  at  one  time  a  soldier  in 


56  THE   STORY   OF   OUR    COUNTRY. 

Austria ;  and  when  he  was  promoted  for  good  ser- 
vice and  bravery,  he  became  captain.  He  was  born 
in  England.  His  parents  were  intelligent  and  kind 
people.  As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  read,  he 
was  anxious  to  travel.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  only  thirteen  years  old ;  and  soon  after,  he 
started  off  to  see  the  world. 

I  should  like  to  tell  you  how  he  went  on  foot 
through  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  and  what 
strange  adventures  he  had  ;  but  there  is  so  much 
to  tell  you  about  him  in  connection  with  our  own 
country,  that  I  must  hurry  on  to  that. 

When  Smith  was  about  twenty-five  years  old,  he 
got  tired  of  travelling  in  Europe,  and  he  thought 
he  would  go  home  to  England.  At  that  time  there 
were  a  number  of  people  who  were  thinking  of  go- 
ing over  to  America.  Smith  happened  to  meet  the 
man  who  was  getting  up  the  party.  His  name  was 
Gosnold. 

LIZZIE.  —  Gosnold  !     What  a  funny  name  ! 

MOTHER.  —  This  Gosnold  had  been  in  America ; 
and  Smith  was  very  much  interested  in  hearing 
him  tell  what  he  had  seen  there.  Of  course  Cap- 
tain John  Smith,  who  could  not  rest  till  he  had  seen 
the  principal  countries  of  Europe,  felt  he  must  go 
and  see  America,  too. 

Nearly  a  year  was  spent  in  getting  ready  for  the 


A   COLONY  WITH   A   LEADER.  57 

expedition.  And  in  December,  1606,  three  ships 
set  out  from  England  for  America. 

Can  yon  tell  me,  Lizzie,  how  long  this  was  after 
Columbus  made  his  first  discoveries  in  America  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  Let  me  see.  Columbus  made  his  first 
discovery  in  1492.  From  1492  to  1592  is  one 
hundred  years ;  and  from  1592  to  1606  is  fourteen 
years. 

WILL.  —  So  the  first  real  settlement  in  America 
was  made  one  hundred  and  fourteen  years  after  it 
Avas  discovered. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  And  can  you  tell  me 
who  was  King  of  England  when  Raleigh  'died  ? 

WILL.  —  I  guess  I  shall  not  forget  that.  It  was 
James  I.  And  I  shall  always  be  vexed  whenever 
I  hear  any  one  speak  of  him ;  because  he  gave 
orders  to  have  poor  Raleigh's  head  cut  off! 

MOTHER.  —  While  Captain  Smith  and  others  were 
fitting  out  their  ships,  Raleigh  was  in  prison,  await- 
ing his  death.  So  now  you  know  who  was  king 
during  this  next  American  settlement. 

WILL.  —  James  I. !  Humph  !  Then  I  know  things 
did  not  go  just  right  with  the  settlers. 

MOTHER.  —  If  James  J.  had  been  a  different  kind 
of  man,  he  might  have  made  things  much  pleasanter 
for  them.  He  said  to  himself,  u  Now  these  people 
who  are  going  to  America  are  all  my  subjects. 


68  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

I  must  do  something  that  shall  make  them  feel  my 
power,  even  when  they  are  across  the  wide  ocean." 
So  he  made  plans  for  governing  the  settlers,  and 
put  the  papers  containing  them  into  a  box,  which 
was  not  to  be  opened  till  they  reached  America. 
The  names  of  the  men  who  were  to  take  charge  of 
the  new  government  were  not  even  made  known. 

WILL.  —  Then  I'm  sure  they  got  into  trouble. 
For  if  any  little  quarrel  came  up,  who  was  to 
settle  it? 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  quite  right.  There  were  hard 
times  on  the  vojrage  over.  Their  minister,  Rev.  Mr. 
Hunt,  a  gentle,  good  man,  tried  to  smooth  matters, 
and  then  the  quarrelsome  ones  turned  upon  him. 
Captain  Smith  tried  to  defend  Mr.  Hunt,  by  saying 
he  was  right  and  they  were  wrong.  What  did  they 
do,  then,  but  take  Captain  Smith  and  put  him  in 
chains  !  They  kept  him  confined  till  they  reached 
America.  But  when  they  found  his  name  was  in 
the  box  as  one  of  those  who  were  to  govern,  they 
let  him  go. 

LIZZIE. — -What  did  Smith  do,  mother,  when  he 
was  free  ? 

WILL.  —  I  know  what  I  would  have  done.  I 
would  have  written  to  England  and  made  a  com- 
plaint. 

MOTHER.  —  Then  vou  would  not  have  been  such 


A    COLONY   WITH    A    LEADER.  59 

a  help  to  the  colony  as  Smith  was.  He  did  not  stop 
to  think  of  his  own  wrongs  at  all,  but  went  right  to 
work  to  make  the  settlers  comfortable. 

LIZZIE.  —  Where  did  they  land,  mother?  Just 
where  the  other  poor  settlers  landed,  who  were 
never  heard  of  again  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  intended  to  land  at  the  same 
place  —  Roanoke  Island.  Perhaps  they  thought 
they  might  find  traces  of  their  other  countrymen. 
But  a  severe  storm  came  on,  ?o  that  the  ships  were 
driven  as  far  north  as  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  storm 
proved  a  blessing ;  for  they  had  a  much  better 
place  than  the  other  settlers  had  had.  Here  they 
anchored,  and  a  large  party  went  on  shore  to  ex- 
plore. Soon  they  met  five  Indians,  who  were  so 
frightened  that  they  started  to  run.  But  the  cap- 
tain of  one  of  the  ships  told  the  Indians  by  signs 
that  they  felt  very  kindly  towards  them.  So  they 
were  not  afraid  any  more,  but  invited  the  party  to 
go  and  visit  their  little  town. 

WILL.  —  That  is  what  I  should  like  to  see  —  an 
Indian  town. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Indians  treated  the  party  as 
generously  as  they  knew  how  to  do.  They  gave 
them  corn-cake,  and  tobacco  and  pipes  ;  then  enter- 
tained them  with  a  dance.  This  meant  that  they 
were  very  glad  indeed  to  see  the  white  people. 


60  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

After  the  party  returned  to  their  ships,  they  left 
Chesapeake  Bay,  sailing  up  a  river  which  flows  into 
its  southern  part. 

Take  your  map,  and  see  if  you  can  find  the  river. 

WILL.  —  I  see  it  —  James  River.  I  suppose  they 
called  it  after  that  mean  king,  James  I. 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  the  month  of  May.  The  woods 
on  either  side  of  the  river  were  full  of  singing  birds. 
The  air  was  fragrant  with  spring  blossoms  ;  and  the 
hills  were  beautiful  with  fresh  verdure.  The  little 
company  of  emigrants  were  enchanted. 

After  sailing  up  James  River  about  forty  miles, 
they  came  to  a  peninsula.  This  site  was  so  lovely, 
commanding  so  fine  a  view  of  the  river  and  sur- 
rounding country,  that  they  chose  the  spot  for  their 
settlement.  They  named  this  place  after  their  king, 
too.  Look  again  on  the  map  and  find  it. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see  it.     You  must  mean  Jamestown. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  After  landing,  the  men  whose 
names  were  in  the  box  formed  themselves  into  a 
government,  and  chose  a  president. 

WILL.  —  I  hope  they  chose  Smith. 

MOTHER.  —  On  the  contrary  they  left  him  out  of 
their  government  altogether. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  Smith  want  to  go  back  to  England 
then  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No,   indeed.      He    showed   the    same 


A    COLONY   WITH    A   LEADER.  61 

manly  spirit  he  did  before,  when  they  treated  him 
so  unfairly.  He  went  right  to  work  for  the  good  of 
all,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

Of  course  the  thing  to  be  done  now  was  to  clear 
away  the  forests,  and  get  materials  for  building. 
At  first,  it  being  a  novelty,  every  man  went  to 
work  with  a  good  will.  But  soon  many  of  the  set- 
tlers got  tired  of  this,  like  children  who  get  tired 
of  building  block  houses  ;  so  they  left  off  working, 
and  wondered  if  there  was  not  an  easier  way  to 
get  along. 

Smith,  who  had  seen  so  much  of  the  world,  knew 
that  the  only  way  to  have  a  successful  settlement 
was  through  hard  work.  He  did  all  he  could  to 
inspire  the  rest  with  courage  and  hope.  He  divided 
the  work,  and  made  plans  for  the  little  town  they 
Avore  commencing. 

WILL.  —  Didn't  Captain  Smith  go  and  get  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indians  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  indeed.  But  he  did  not  go  far 
away  from  the  settlers  during  the  first  summer. 
He  was  afraid  they  would  leave  off  building.  And 
if  they  did  so,  how  could  they  live  through  the  com- 
ing winter  ? 

But  cold  weather  came  on,  and  Smith  saw  that 
there  were  houses  enough  for  the  settlement.  The 
ships  that  brought  them  over  had  gone  back  to 


62  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

England.  Their  provisions  were  nearly  gone,  and 
they  did  not  kno\v  where  to  get  more. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  didn't  they  go  into  the  fields,  and 
get  corn  and  such  things  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  no  fields  of  corn.  You  must 
remember  they  had  to  clear  away  the  forests  before 
they  could  get  a  place  even  to  build  houses  upon. 

WILL.  —  And  that  took  so  much  time,  they  didn't 
have  a  chance  to  plant. 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  so.  And  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Smith,  they  would  all  have  starved. 

WILL.  —  I  think  I  know  how  he  got  something  for 
them  to  eat !  He  went  to  the  Indians. 

MOTHER. — -You  have  guessed  right.  Smith  said 
to  himself,  "  These  Indians  must  have  plenty  to  eat. 
They  must  have  provisions  laid  up  to  last  till  spring. 
Perhaps  I  can  get  them  to  open  a  trade  with  our 
settlement,  and  thus  obtain  all  we  need."  So,  in 
company  with  several  men,  he  started  up  a  river 
that  flows  into  the  James,  quite  near  Jamestown. 
See  if  you  can  find  it. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see  the  name  —  Chickahominy. 

MOTHER.  —  Smith  went  up  the  Chickahominy  as 
far  as  he  could  in  his  barge.  Then  he  left  it,  and 
went  higher  up  the  river  in  a  canoe,  with  only  two 
Englishmen,  and  two  Indians  who  promised  to  show 
the  wav  to  their  town. 


A   COLONY   WITH   A    LEADER.  63 

After  sailing  about  twenty  miles,  he  left  his  canoe, 
with  the  men,  and  in  company  with  one  of  his  Indian 
guides,  went  on  shore  to  shoot  game. 


Indian   Canoe. 

He  had  been  gone  but  a  little  while,  when  two  or 
three  hundred  Indians,  with  their  cruel  chief,  sur- 
prised the  men  in  the  canoe. 

"  Shoot  them  1  Kill  them  ! "  yelled  out  the  chief. 
Upon  that  the  Indians  let  their  arrows  fly  till  the 
two  men  were  dead,  stuck  full  of  arrows. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  how  glad  I  am  that  Captain  Smith 
had  left  the  canoe  ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  Indians  saw  by  the  boot-tracks 
on  the  shore  that  there  were  more  men  in  the 
company.  So  they  started  off  in  the  direction 
Smith  had  gone. 

Smith  saw  them  coming,  and  knew  by  their 
horrid  yells  that  they  meant  to  kill  him. 

"  If  I  appear  frightened,  it  is  all  over  with  me," 
said  he  to  himself. 

So  he  bound  his  Indian  guide  to  his  arm  for  a 
shield,  and  looked  carefully  at  his  fire-arms,  which 
he  always  carried  loaded.  As  soon  as  the  Indians 


64  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

came  near,  he  fired  off  his  gun  so  rapidly  that  he 
killed  three  Indians  and  wounded  several  others. 
The  Indians  had  never  heard  a  gun  before,  and 
the}7  were  so  frightened  they  did  not  dare  go  near 
Smith.  Keeping  his  eye  on  the  Indians,  he  tried 
to  make  his  way  back  to  the  canoe.  But  the  first 
thing  he  knew  he  was  up  to  his  waist  in  a  bog. 
Even  then  they  did  not  dare  come  near  him  till  he 
threw  away  his  fire-arms. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  why  he  did  that. 

MOTHER.  —  Because  he  was  almost  dead  with  cold. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  did  the  Indians  do  then  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  drew  Smith  out  of  the  freezing 
mud,  and  carried  him  to  a  fire,  and  carefully  rubbed 
his  stiffened  limbs.  As  soon  as  he  could  speak,  he 
asked  to  see  their  chief. 

Smith  had  in  his  pocket  a  very  pretty  ivory  com- 
pass. He  gave  this  to  the  chief,  and  showed  him 
how  the  little  needle  always  pointed  lo  the  north. 
The  Indian  was  amazed. 

Soon  after  this  they  marched  him  to  a  large 
Indian  settlement.  He  was  led  by  six  great  sav- 
ages. When  they  got  to  the  Indian  town,  they  fed 
him  so  generously  that  he  suspected  they  were  go- 
ing to  fatten  him  and  then  eat  him  ;  for  he  knew 
that  savages  did  sometimes  eat  people. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  he  would  have  been  too 
much  frightened  to  eat. 


A    COLONY  WITH   A   LEADER. 


65 


MOTHER.  —  Smith  never  lost  his  courage.  After  he 
had  been  with  the  Indians  a  few  days,  he  found  they 
were  making  great  preparations  to  attack  Jamestown. 
They  came  to  him  for  advice  and  help. 


John  Smith  and  the  Indians. 


WILL.  —  Now  I  know  why  they  did  not  kill  him  ! 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  glad  enough  that  they  had 
spared  his  life  thus  far,  for  he  was  again  able  to  be 
of  service  to  the  settlers.  He  told  the  Indians  that 
5 


66  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

it  was  a  very  dangerous  thing  for  them  to  try  to 
destroy  Jamestown,  that  every  man  there  had  guns 
and  swords,  and  that  there  was  a  great  fort  filled 
with  loaded  cannon.  This  frightened  them  so  much 
that  they  gave  up  all  thoughts  of  attacking  James- 
town. 

Soon  after  this  they  led  Smith  around  to  show 
him  off  to  the  different  tribes  near  the  three  rivers 
which  flow  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  north  of  the  James. 
See  if  you  can  find  these  rivers  on  the  map. 

LIZZIE.  —  There  is  the  James ;  and  next  comes 
York  River. 

WILL.  —  The  river  north  of  that  is  the  Rappahan- 
nock,  and  the  next  is  the  Potomac. 

MOTHER.  —  Very  good.  So,  you  see,  Smith  had  a 
chance  to  become  acquainted  with  the  country. 

WILL.  —  With  the  Indians,  too.  And  that  is  what 
he  wanted. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Indians  were  as  curious  to  under- 
stand Smith  as  he  was  to  know  them.  Did  the 
Great  Spirit  send  him  to  bless  them,  or  was  he  the 
messenger  of  evil  ?  One  day  lie  puzzled  them  very 
much.  He  took  a  piece  of  birch  bark  and  wrote  a 
message  on  it,  and  then  sent  it  by  some  of  the  In- 
dians to  Jamestown.  Could  this  white  man  make 
chips  talk  ?  What  would  he  do  next  ?  Should 
they  treat  him  as  a  friend  or  a  foe.  They  danced 


A   COLONY  WITH   A   LEADER. 


67 


around  him  to  please  him.  They  made  hideous 
yells  to  frighten  him.  Finally,  they  led  him  before 
Powhatan,  who  was  king  of  the  tribes  in  that  part 
of  the  country. 


An  Indian  Village. 


68  THE   STORY    OP    OUR   COUNTRY. 


VII. 
A   NOBLE    INDIAN    GIRL. 

MOTHER.  —  Powhatan  was  a  tall,  noble-looking 
savage.  When  Smith  came  before  him,  he  was 
seated  on  a  wooden  throne.  He  wore  a  great  robe 
of  raccoon  skins,  and  on  his  head  a  coronet  of 
feathers.  He  was  surrounded  with  attendants  — 
Indian  men  and  women,  painted  red,  black,  or  white, 
and  wearing  strange-looking  ornaments.  Some  of 
them  had  rings  in  their  noses. 

The  whole  crowd  gave  a  shout  when  Smith 
entered.  One,  who  seemed  to  be  queen,  came  and 
washed  his  feet,  and  wiped  them  with  feathers. 

After  they  had  feasted  him  generously,  the  In- 
dians had  a  long  talk  with  Powhatan,  as  to  what 
should  be  done  with  him. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  I  hope  they  didn't  kill  him  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Among  the  strange-looking  groups, 
Smith  saw  a  beautiful  young  Indian  girl.  From 
the  number  of  attendants  about  her,  he  judged  her 
to  be  a  princess.  This  was  Pocahontas,  the  king's 
daughter.  She  seemed  to  know  what  the  Indians 


A    NOBLE   INDIAN   GIRL.  69 

were  talking  about ;  for  her  dark  eyes  looked  anx- 
iously first  at  Smith  and  then  at  her  father. 

At  last  it  was  decided  that  Smith  should  be  killed. 
Two  large  stones  were  placed  before  Powhatan. 
Smith  was  dragged  to  the  spot,  and  his  head  was 
laid  upon  the  stones.  The  great  club  of  one  of  the 
cruel  chiefs  was  raised,  to  beat  out  Smith's  brains  ; 
when  Pocahontas,  leaping  through  the  crowd,  threw 
herself  before  Smith,  and  clasping  his  head  in  her 
arms,  cried  out,  — 

"Kill  me!   kill  me!     He  shall  not  die!" 

Powhatan's  face  showed  at  first  surprise,  then 
anger,  then  tenderness.  The  chief's  great  club 
fell  to  the  ground. 

"  Let  him  live  !  "  said  Powhatan. 

And  so  the  little  colony  at  Jamestown  was  again 
saved. 

WILL.  —  That's  what  I  call  a  noble  girl ! 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  Smith  have  a  chance  to  talk  with 
her  after  that? 

MOTHER.  —  O,  yes.  He  took  a  great  deal  of  pleas- 
ure in  making  little  things  for  Pocahontas  to  wear, 
such  as  strings  of  beads,  bells,  and  copper  orna- 
ments. 

Pocahontas  had  a  brother,  a  fine,  manly  fellow, 
who  also  took  a  fancy  to  Smith,  and  did  many  kind 
things  for  him. 


70  THE  STORY  OF  OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  am  glad  some  one  treated  him  well  at 
last.  It  seems  as  if  he  had  met  with  nothing  but 
hard  treatment  ever  since  he  left  England. 

MOTHER.  —  For  several  days  Powhatan  was  un- 
decided what  he  should  do  with  Smith.  Finally  he 
tried  to  frighten  him  by  having  two  hundred  Indians 
howl  around  him  in  the  most  direful  manner.  Then 
he  said,  — 

"  We  are  now  friends.  Go  back  to  Jamestown. 
Send  me  two  guns  and  a  grindstone,  and  I  will  give 
you  much  land,  and  love  you  as  my  own  son." 

Smith  did  not  believe  him.  He  expected  every 
moment  to  be  killed.  But  he  reached  Jamestown 
in  safety  at  last. 

The  grindstone  was  too  heavy  to  send  back.  But 
he  gave  the  Indian  guides  a  great  many  little  pres- 
ents for  Powhatan  and  Pocahontas,  which  pleased 
them  more  than  the  grindstone  would  have  done. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  mother  !  didn't  he  see  Pocahontas 
any  more  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  indeed.  Pocahontas  was  always 
a  true  friend  to  Smith.  Not  long  after  this,  she 
found  that  the  Indians  were  again  intending  to 
make  an  attack  on  Jamestown  ;  and  she  hastened 
alone  through  the  woods,  on  a  dark  and  stormy 
night,  to  warn  Smith  of  the  danger. 

WILL.  —  Then  she  saved  the  colony  a  second  time. 


A   IfOBLE   INDIAN   GIRL.  71 

MOTHER. —  I  think  that  is  true.  And  I  am  quite 
sure  she  saved  it  at  still  another  time. 

During  the  winter,  after  Smith  had  been  so  long 
with  the  Indians,  the  poor  settlers  suffered  much 
from  hunger. 

"  I  will  carry  them  food,"  said  Pocahontas.  'And 
every  four  or  five  days,  all  winter  long,  Pocahon- 
tas, with  her  attendants,  walked  over  the  snow  and 
ice,  carrying  baskets  of  provisions  to  the  starving- 
people. 

WILL.  —  I  hope  the  settlers  began  to  find  that 
Smith  was  their  best  friend  ! 

MOTHER.  —  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  they  found  fault 
with  him  because  he  did  no  more  for  them.  They 
were  very  much  vexed  because  he  did  not  encour- 
age them  to  give  up  planting  and  building,  and 
search  for  gold. 

At  last  they  said,  "  We  will  dig  for  gold.  We  will 
send  a  vessel  to  England  full  of  gold  dust;  and  then 
our  friends  will  see  what  we  are  doing." 

When  the  ship  which  they  loaded  arrived  in  Eng- 
land, its  cargo  proved  to  be  nothing  but  glittering 
dirt. 

Soon  after  this,  Smith  had  still  harder  times. 
More  people  came  over  from  England.  But  they 
were  not  real  workers.  They  were  such  people  as 
England  was  glad  to  get  rid  of. 


72  THE   STORY    OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  That  was  enough  to  discourage  any  man. 

MOTHER.  —  Smith  kept  on  working  for  the  colony ; 
trying  to  rouse  the  idle,  and  have  each  one  work  for 
the  public  good. 

After  awhile  the  wives  and  daughters  of  many 
of  the  settlers  came  out  to  them. 

LIZZIE.  —  Perhaps  that  made  the  men  go  to  work ; 
for  they  would  be  ashamed  not  to  have  decent  homes 
for  their  families. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  much  better  after  this.  The 
houses  began  to  look  home-like,  and  soon  they  bnilt 
a  little  church.  But  in  the  mean  time  Smith  met 
with  an  accident.  Some  gunpowder  exploded,  and 
injured  him  so  much  that  he  was  obliged  to  go  back 
to  England,  —  there  being  no  surgeons  in  America 
who  could  dress  his  wounds  properly. 

LIZZIE.  —  0, mother  !  was  that  the  only  pay  he  got? 

MOTHER.  —  If  we  look  at  it  in  one  way,  we  might 
say  it  was ;  for  he  did  not  own  a  foot  of  land  in 
America,  —  not  even  the  house  which  he  had  built 
with  his  own  hands.  But  Smith's  conscience  told 
him  he  had  done  the  best  he  could.  And  the  world 
has  ever  since  thanked  him  for  doing  what  he  did 
for  America.  He  was,  in  fact,  the  first  man  who  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a  colony  in  this  country. 

Columbus  discovered  America.  The  Cabots  dis- 
covered that  portion  of  America  best  fitted  for  colo- 


A    NOBLE   INDIAN   GIRL.  73 

nization,  and  claimed  it  for  England.  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  gave  to  the  world  the  desire  to  colonize 
America.  But  Captain  John  Smith,  by  hard  labor 
and.  much  self-sacrifice,  first  established  homes  in 
America. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  guess  Pocahontas  was  sorry  to  have 
Smith  go  away  ! 

MOTHER.  —  She  must  have  been  very  sorry. 

After  Smith  left  the  colony,  she  had  much  to  do 
with  its  history.  A  party  of  the  settlers  went  back 
into  the  country  to  forage  —  that  is,  to  pick  up  food, 
or  anything  else  that  would  be  of  use  to  them. 
After  stealing  everything  they  could  lay  hands  to, 
they  saw  Pocahontas  coming ;  and  they  said,  "  Let 
us  carry  her  off!  We  will  make  the  old  king  buy 
her  back."  So  they  carried  off  Pocahontas,  and 
sent  word  to  Powhatan  that  he  could  not  have  his 
daughter  unless  he  would  pay  a  large  sum  for  her. 

WILL.  —  To  think  of  treating  Pocahontas  like  that, 
after  all  she  had  done  for  the  colony  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Powhatan  was  enraged  at  the  insult ; 
and  he  said,  "  I  will  never  buy  her  back  !  I  will 
fight  for  her  !  "  And  many  of  the  Indians  became 
enemies  to  the  English. 

But  just  at  that  time  a  young  Englishman,  named 
John  Rolfe,  took  a  great  fancy  to  Pocahontas.  And 
Pocahontas  liked  him  very  much.  So  they  were 


74  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

married.  Powhatan  was  pleased  at  this ;  and  lie 
never  allowed  any  of  his  tribe  to  be  unkind  to  the 
English  afterwards. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  Pocahontas  live  in  a  wigwam  after 
she  was  married,  or  did  she  live  in  a  house  like 
ours  ? 

MOTHER.  —  She  did  not  live  in  a  wigwam  any 
longer.  And  when  she  was  twenty-one,  she  went 
to  England  with  her  husband,  and  saw  the  king  and 
queen. 


Indian  Wigwam. 

Everybody  showed  her  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
I  think  Smith  had  something  to  do  with  this.  For 
when  he  heard  Pocahontas  was  coming  to  England, 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  queen,  telling  her  how  much 
good  Pocahontas  had  done  to  the  colonists,  and 
begging  the  queen  to  be  very  kind  to  her.  He 
also  said  that  it  would  make  the  Indians  in  America 
feel  kindly  towards  the  English,  if  they  should  hear 


A   NOBLE   INDIAN   GIRL.  75 

that  Powhatan's  daughter  had  been  treated  like  a 
princess. 

But  true,  brave,  noble,  devoted  Pocahontas  re- 
mained as  simple  as  when  she  roved  in  the  forests 
around  her  father's  hut. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  believe  she  forgot  Smith,  either. 

MOTHER.  —  She  had  heard  that  he  was  dead;  when 
one  day  he  was  suddenly  presented  to  her  ! 

Now,  you  know  people  at  court  must  be  very 
ceremonious  —  that  is,  they  must  bow  just  so,  and 
speak  to  each  other  in  just  such  a  way,  or  they  are 
called  rude. 

When  Pocahontas  saw  Smith,  she  forgot  all  about 
court  manners  ;  and,  rushing  across  the  room,  she 
flung  her  arms  around  him,  and  called  him  "father!" 

She  felt  hurt  when  Smith  told  her  that  such  free- 

X 

dom  might  do  for  the  wild  forests  of  America,  but 
not  for  the  English  court.  She  turned  away  from 
him,  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  did  not  speak 
for  two  hours. 

Then  she  said,  "  You  were  not  afraid  to  come  to 
my  father's  country,  and  cause  fear  in  him  and  all 
his  people  but  me  !  And  fear  you  here  that  I  should 
call  you  father?  I  tell  you,  then,  I  will!  And  you 
shall  call  me  child  !  And  so  I  will  be  forever  and 
ever  your  countryman  !  " 

WILL.  —  I  should  almost  know  Pocahontas  would 
talk  like  that. 


76  THR    STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  she  like  living  in  England  ? 

MOTHER.  —  I  think  she  could  not  have  enjoyed 
giving  up  her  native  freedom.  And  then  the  climate 
did  not  agree  with  her. 

Her  husband  was  just  going  back  to  America  with 
her,  when  she  died,  leaving  a  beautiful  little  boy. 
This  little  boy  staid  in  England  till  he  had  received 
a  good  education  ;  then  he  went  to  Virginia,  and 
became  a  rich  man.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the  first 
families  in  Virginia  are  descended  from  him. 

LIZZIE.  —  Since  you  told  us  about  Columbus,  I 
have  thought  he  could  not  have  discovered  Amer- 
ica if  it  hadn't  been  for  Isabella.  Smith  could  not 
have  colonized  America  if  it  hadn't  been  for  Poca- 
hontas. 

MOTHER.  —  I  think  we  may  safely  say  that.  Poca- 
hontas  was  just  the  friend  Smith  needed.  Isabella 
herself  could  not  have  been  to  Smith  what  Pocahon- 
tas  was. 

WILL.  —  And  Pocahontas  could  not  have  helped 
Columbus  as  Isabella  did  ;  because  she  was  not  rich. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  quite  right.  And  we  may 
learn  from  this  that  God  gives  to  earnest  souls  just 
the  help  they  need  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

WILL.  —  Did  Smith  ever  go  back  to  America  ? 

MOTHER.  —  It  seems  as  if  the'  settling  of  America 
was  what  he  loved  and  cared  for  more  than  anv- 


A    NOBLE    INDIAN    GIRL.  77 

thing  else  in  the  world,  for  he  had  no  family.  And 
as  soon  as  his  health  was  better,  he  was  again  busy 
in  his  chosen  work. 

He  did  not  go  back  to  Jamestown,  although  the 
settlement  there  did  not,  prosper  for  a  number  of 
years  after  he  left  it.  But  he  explored  the  land  in 
what  we  call  New  England.  He  made  maps  of  it, 
and  also  of  the  country  between  New  England  and 
Virginia.  He  wrote  books,  describing  the  climate, 
soil,  and  appearance  of  the  country.  He  told  of  the 
advantages  there  were  in  going  to  a  large  country 
where  each  one  could  have  land  of  his  own,  and 
grow  rich  if  he  was  willing  to  work.  And  people 
were  more  anxious  than  ever  to  go  to  America. 

Smith  did  not  live  to  be  an  old  man.  He  died  in 
London  in  the  year  1631. 

WILL.  —  That  was  twenty-six  years  after  he 
went  to  Jamestown.  So  he  must  have  been  fifty- 
two  years  old. 

MOTHER. —  I  am  glad  to  see  you  remember  our 
talks  so  well. 

What  colony  was  first  settled,  Lizzie,  and  who 
was  the  father  of  it  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  Virginia  was  the  first,  and  Smith  settled 
it.  If  the  settlement  was  not  a  very  happy  one,  it 
was  because  there  were  so  many  men  in  it  who 
didn't  like  to  work. 


78  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER. —  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  tell  you 
another  bad  result  of  the  idleness  of  the  first  set- 
tlers. 

In  1619,  a  Dutch  ship  arrived  at  Jamestown,  land- 
ing twenty  negroes.  "  Here  !  "  said  the  Dutchmen 
to  the  Virginia  planters ;  "  you  are  in  want  of  work- 
ers. Buy  these  slaves,  and  you  will  have  no  trouble 
in  raising  corn  and  tobacco." 

The  negroes  were  bought  and  set  to  work,  with 
the  fear  of  the  whip-lash  on  their  backs  if  they  dared 
to  be  idle.  In  this  way  slavery  was  brought  to 
this  country. 

LIZZIE.  —  Couldn't  the  poor  negroes  have  any 
land  of  their  own  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  they  were  bought  and  sold  with 
the  land. 

LIZZIE.  —  That  wasn't  right.  So  I  am  sure  the 
Virginia  colony  would  have  to  suffer  for  it  some 
time. 


THE   HOME   OF   FREEDOM.  79 


VIII. 
THE   HOME   OF   FREEDOM. 

MOTHER.  —  Before  saying  much  about  the  settle- 
ment at  Plymouth,  I  must  go  back  and  tell  you  why 
these  people  wanted  to  come  to  America. 

WILL.  —  You  said  the  first  settlement  in  America 
did  not  succeed  because  there  was  no  man  fit  to  be 
a  leader.  Are  you  not  going  to  tell  us  about  some 
smart  man  among  those  who  went  to  Plymouth  ? 

MOTHER.  —  I  am  going  to  tell  you  something 
about  a  great  man,  though  he  was  not  one  of  the 
settlers. 

You  know,  when  we  were  talking  about  Colum- 
bus, we  said  that  God  let  him  believe  that  the  world 
was  round,  and  made  him  feel  sure  that  there  was 
another  continent,  because  all  Europe  needed  to 
know  it. 

LIZZIE.  —  Yes  ;  the  merchants  wanted  to  find  an 
easier  road  to  India. 

WILL.  —  The  Portuguese  navigator  got  the  start, 
though,  and  found  the  way  to  India  by  doubling 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


80  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  All  Europe  would  soon  after  need  to 
know  that  there  were  homes  to  be  found  in  Amer- 
ica, and  for  a  reason  a  thousand  times  more  impor- 
tant than  that  for  finding  a  passage  to  India. 

You  must  know  that  the  governments  in  Europe 
were  very  strict.  That  is,  they  gave  the  people 
very  little  freedom,  —  especially  the  poor  people. 

WILL.  —  I  remember  you  said  a  poor  man  there 
could  not  own  any  land. 

MOTHER.  —  The  discovery  of  America  made  a 
great  change  all  over  the  world.  It  was  wonderful 
news  to  learn  that  there  was  a  great  country  across 
the  ocean.  It  was  like  opening  a  window  in  a  dark 
and  crowded  room,  so  that  sunshine  and  fresh  air 
could  come  in.  Everybody  was  thinking  and  talk- 
ing about  it ;  and  thinking  and  talking  make  men's 
minds  grow.  It  was  just  before  this  time,  too,  that 
printing  was  first  used. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  mother  !  didn't  people  have  books 
to  read  before  then  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  only  books  that  were  written 
by  hand.  These  were  costly ;  and  of  course  but  very 
few  could  afford  to  own  them.  The  common  people 
could  not  have  read  them  either,  if  they  had  owned 
them.  But  now  they  were  beginning  to  read  and 
to  think  for  themselves. 

I  told  you  just  now  that  the  European  govern- 


THE   HOME    OF   FREEDOM.  81 

ments  did  not  give  the  people  much  freedom.  One 
proof  of  this  is,  that  men  Avere  not  allowed  to  wor- 
ship God  each  in  his  own  way.  Every  man  had  to 
pay  something  out  of  his  small  earnings  to  support 
the  same  kind  of  church,  and  say,  I  believe  so  and 
so.  And  if  he  did  not  do  this,  he  was  punished 
by  law. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  think  that  was  fair  ! 

MOTHER.  —  When  people  began  to  think  ior  them- 
selves, they  "saw  it  was  not  fair.  But  it  was  a  very 
dangerous  thing  for  a  man  to  say  so. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  very  bold,  brave  man 
in  Germany,  named  Martin  Luther,  who  dared  to 
say,  "  Every  man  must  think  for  himself.  No  man 
can  think  for  him  !  " 

Martin  Luther  was  like  a  lion  among  men.  He 
would  say  what  he  believed,  even  if  he  knew  it 
would  cost  him  his  life  to  say  it. 

LIZZIE. — Was  Martin  Luther  among  the  Plymouth 
settlers  ? 

MOTHER.  —  0,  no,  dear  child.  He  died  before  the 
first  settlement  at  Jamestown.  The  reason  I  ain 
telling  you  about  him  is,  that  he  had  something  to 
do  with  the  coming  of  the  settlers  to  Plymouth. 

Martin  Luther  loved  music.  He  wrote  beautiful 
hymns  for  the  people  to  sing.  These  grand  old 
hymns,  that  were  first  sung  in  Germany,  echoed 
6 


82  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

from  country  to  country,  till  all  Europe  was  quiver- 
ing with  their  music.  People  sang  about  freedom 
before  they  dared  to  talk  about  it.  Thus  music  was 
a  mighty  weapon  against  the  tyranny  of  kings. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  like  to  hear  you  talk  about  it,  mother, 
because  your  voice  is  so  deep,  and  you  look  so 
earnest ;  but  I  cannot  quite  understand  you. 

WILL.  —  I  do.  Mother  means  that  the  people 
were  all  singing  of  freedom  before  the  kings  knew 
what  they  were  about. 

MOTHER.  —  Thank  you,  Will.     You  are  right. 

Sitting  here  by  the  pleasant  fire,  and  hearing 
only  our  own  low  voices,  it  is  an  easy  thing  to 
say,  "  Every  man  must  worship  God  in  his  own 
way."  But  this  thought  from  Heaven  made  every 
king  in  Europe  tremble  on  his  throne.  It  was  the 
cause  of  the  most  horrible  wars. 

Europe  was  not  large  enough  for  this  mighty 
thought  to  grow  in.  People  began  to  say,  "  We 
cannot  think, —  we  cannot  breathe  freely  here.  We 
must  have  more  room." 

WILL.  - —  Now  J  see  the  whole  of  it !  Of  course 
the  kings  were  not  willing  that  the  people  should 
think  as  they  pleased  ;  and  so  folks  said,  "  If  we 
can't  think  about  God  as  we  want  to  here,  we  will 
go  where  we  can.  We  will  go  to  America  !  " 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  it.     So,  you  see,  the  time  had 


THE   HOME   OP   FREEDOM.  83 

come  when  it  was  really  necessary  that  the  people 
of  Europe  should  know  of  a  place  like  America. 

WILL.  —  Then  the  discovery  of  this  country  did 
more  good  than  just  finding  a  passage  to  India 
would  have  done. 

MOTHER.  —  Far  more.  Columbus  little  knew  Avhat 
great  good  Avas  coming  to  the  world  through  the 
mighty  feeling  in  his  heart  which  impelled  him  to 
his  discoveries. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  can  see  why  people  should  have  liked 
to  go  to  America  :  it  was  a  new  place,  and  people 
like  to  see  new  places. 

But  do  you  think  the  settlers  who  came  to  Plym- 
outh would  have  been  treated  very  badly  if  they  had 
staid  in  Europe  ? 

MOTHER.  —  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you  how  cruelly 
people  were  treated  who  dared  to  believe  in  God  in 
their  own  Avay.  They  Avere  hunted  like  Avild  beasts. 
Many  were  banished  from  their  country  forever. 
Many  Avere  burned  to  death.  In  France  alone,  one 
hundred  thousand  people  were  put  to  death  for  be- 
lieving Avhat  the}'  thought  was  right. 

WILL.  —  A  hundred  thousand  !    HOAV  could  it  be? 

MOTHER.  —  There  AA^as  a  cruel  king  in  France  at 
that  time.  His  mother  Avas  a  very  wicked  woman. 
And  then  there  was  a  duke  Avho  was  also  very  cruel. 
These  three,  who  had  most  to  do  with  the  govern- 


84  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

ment,  thought  no  more  of  killing  men  and  women 
than  you  would  of  killing  flies.  And  they  said, 
"  What  business  has  any  one  to  think  differently 
from  kings  and  queens  !  We  will  show  people  what 
they  ought  to  believe  !  " 

So  they  had  a  party,  and  invited  thousands  of  peo- 
ple to  come  to  it.  It  was  a  great  affair,  for  it  was 
to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  a  prince.  And  just  as 
everybody  was  having  a  good  time,  the  word  was 
given,  "  Kill !  Kill ! " 

This  was  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  most  terri- 
ble times  the  world  ever  knew.  A  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  women,  and  children  were  put  to  death. 

And  all  this  was  for  believing  in  God  as  they 
thought  right. 

WILL.  • —  0,  how  angry  the  people  must  have  been 
all  over  Europe  ! 

MOTHER.  —  And  instead  of  believing  just  what  the 
kings  said  they  must,  there  were  larger  numbers 
than  before  who  said,  "  We  will  think  for  our- 
selves ! " 

This  horrible  affair  in  France  occurred  over  a 
hundred  years  before  people  began  to  come  to 
America  to  live.  But  after  this  a  great  many  per- 
sons in  England  were  burned  to  death  for  worship- 
ping God  in  their  own  way.  And  the  Plymouth  set- 
tlers, who  could  not  meet  together  to  talk  about 


THE    HOME    OF    FREEDOM.  85 

God  without  being  disturbed,  did  not  know  but 
they  would  be  hunted  down  or  driven  from  their 
country. 

They  said,  "  We  would  rather  live  in  huts  in 
America,  and  have  quiet  talks  about  God,  than 
stay  here." 

So  you  see  the  hundred  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren who  left  England  in  the  ship  Mayflower  did 
not  come  to  America  to  make  discoveries,  or  to  hunt 
for  gold.  They  came  to  worship  God  in  freedom. 

LIZZIE.  —  O,  it  must  have  been  hard  for  the  little 
children  who  were  with  them  !  Was  it  very  cold 
weather  when  they  started  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  left  England  in  September,  1620. 

WILL.  —  That  was  fourteen  years  after  Captain 
John  Smith  left  for  Virginia. 

MOTHER.  —  When  the  Pilgrims  first  left  their 
homes  the  weather  was  pleasant  and  warm.  The 
gardens  were  full  of  flowers ;  the  hills  were  green  ; 
the  birds  were  singing. 

After  the  Mayflower  had  been  tossing  on  the 
stormy  ocean  for  sixty-three  days,  the  Pilgrims 
were  told  they  had  reached  their  new  homes. 
The  little  company  crowded  on  deck,  full  of  hope ; 
for  they  had  heard  pleasant  things  of  America. 

0,  how  bare  and  bleak  everything  looked  !  No 
green  fields,  no  blossoming  meadows.  The  hills 


86  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

were  covered  with  snow.  The  leafless  branches 
of  the  trees  were  encased  in  ice,  through  which 
the  winter  winds  moaned.  The  rocky  coast,  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see,  was  white  with  frost.  Even 
the  sunshine  remained  behind  the  clouds,  as  if  to 
make  the  picture  colorless  and  bare. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  mother  !  Didn't  they  all  want  to  go 
back  to  England  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No.  "  This  shall  be  the  home  of  Free- 
dom!" they  said.  "Here  we  can  worship  God." 
And  they  joined  in  singing  a  hymn  —  one  of  the 
hymns  that  Martin  Luther  had  taught  the  people. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  believe  these  folks  had  any  quar- 
relling on  the  way  over. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  not.  And  before  they  went 
on  shore  they  signed  a  paper,  saying  each  would 
work  for  the  good  of  all.  They  also  chose  one  of 
their  number  for  a  governor,  —  one  whom  they  all 
loved,  and  were  willing  to  obey.  His  name  was 
John  Carver. 

When  they  lowered  their  little  boat  to  go  on 
shore,  they  found  that  it  needed  repairs.  It  had 
served  as  a  sleeping  berth  on  the  voyage  over. 
They  had  to  wait  seventeen  days  before  it  was  fit 
to  use.  In  the  mean  time  sixteen  of  the  men  put 
themselves  under  the  command  of  Captain  Stan- 
dish,  and  reached  the  shore  by  wading  through  the 


THE   HOME   OP   FREEDOM.  87 

icy  water.  This  gave  them  severe  colds,  from  which 
some  of  them  never  recovered. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  why  they  needed  a  captain. 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  heard  of  the  Indians.  And 
in  case  of  attack,  they  knew  they  must  have  one 
man  to  look  to  for  orders. 

WILL.  —  That  shows  they  were  more  sensible 
than  the  men  at  Jamestown,  who  were  always 
quarrelling  because  every  one  wanted  to  be  cap- 
tain. 

MOTHER.  —  When  the  little  boat  was  ready,  a 
number  of  the  men  again  started  to  hunt  up  and 
down  the  coast  for  a  good  harbor.  It  was  snowing 
fast.  The  spray  from  the  waves  froze  upon  them, 
so  that  they  had  on  coats  of  ice. 

After  exploring  the  coast  in  different  directions, 
they  landed  and  made  a  fire,  staying  on  shore 
through  the  night.  The  next  morning,  just  at  day- 
break, they  heard  the  horrid  yell  of  the  Indians. 
And  soon  the  air  about  them  was  full  of  arrows. 
But  no  one  was  hurt.  Thankful  for  this,  they 
started  off  again,  in  their  little  shallop,  to  search 
for  a  good  harbor  for  the  Mayflower. 

As  the  day  wore  on  the  storm  increased.  The 
snow  and  sleet  so  blinded  them  that  it  was  difficult 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  land.  Their  little  boat  rose 
and  fell  like  a  feather  on  the  foaming  waves.  Soon 


88 


THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


Pilgrims  seeking  a  Harbor  in  tLe 
Storm. 


their  rudder  broke. 
Then  their  mast  was 
split  in  pieces,  and 
the  sail  went  over- 
board. Night  came 
on.  "  We  are  lost ! " 
cried  they  ;  and  each 
thought  of  the  dear 

ones  in  the  Mayflower,  who  were  anxiously  waiting 

for  them. 

But  just  then  they  found   themselves  in  a  little 

bay,  where  they  were  sheltered  from  the  fury  of  the 

storm.     The  war-whoops  of  the   Indians  were  still 

heard  in  the  distance. 

"  Let  us  thank  God  for  his  care ! "  said  the  Pil- 


THE    HOME    OP    FREEDOM.  89 

grims.  "  He  has  saved  us  from  the  dangers  of  the 
storm ;  He  will  guard  us  from  the  savages."  And 
so  He  did. 

Numb  with  cold,  and  almost  perishing  with  hun- 
ger, they  landed  and  built  a  fire. 

By  the  light  of  the  next  morning  they  saw  that 
they  were  on  an  island  at  the  entrance  of  a  good 
harbor,  where  the  Mayflower  could  be  safely  moored. 

LIZZIE.  —  How  singular  !  When  the  Jamestown 
settlers  were  trying  to  land,  a  storm  drove  them 
into  a  good  deal  better  place  than  they  expected 
to  find. 

WILL.  —  It  drove  them  into  Chesapeake  Bay, 
near  James  River. 

MOTHER.  —  And  the  storm  which  the  Pilgrims 
met  drove  them  into  what  we  now  call  Plymouth 
Harbor. 

Overcome  by  cold  and  fatigue,  they  were  glad  to 
rest  during  the  next  day,  which  was  Sunday.  On 
Monday  morning  they  again  started  to  explore  the 
harbor,  and  find  the  best  landing-place. 

They  soon  came  to  a  large  rock  by  the  shore, 
which  seemed  to  invite  them  to  stop.  Here  they 
moored  their  little  boat. 

And  on  the  22d  of  December,  1620,  these  stout- 
hearted, earnest  men  stood  upon  the  shores  of  Plym- 
outh, and  thanked  God  for  Freedom. 


90  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  they  were  glad  they  had  found  a 
good  place  to  make  homes  for  the  mothers  and  the 
little  children^ — were  they  not,  mother? 

MOTHER.  —  Indeed  they  were.  They  explored 
the  country  a  little,  and  found  that  the  forests  were 
partly  cleared  away.  They  found  beautiful  springs 
of  water.  They  also  found  a  heap  of  corn. 

u  We  will  go  back  now  to  the  Mayflower,"  they 
said,  "  and  tell  our  friends  we  have  found  a  good 
place  for  a  settlement." 

What  do  you  think  had  happened  while  they  were 
gone  ?  A  dear  little  baby  boy  had  been  born.  He 
was  named  Peregrine  White.  This  was  the  first 
English  child  born  in  New  England;  and  he  lived 
to  be  over  eighty  years  old. 

WILL.  —  It  must  have  been  a  good  deal  easier  to 
make  a  settlement  here,  than  if  no  forests  had  been 
cleared  away. 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  true ;  although  they  had  many 
hard  times  during  the  winter  that  followed,  and  were 
in  constant  fear  that  the  Indians  would  drive  them 
away. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  see  how  they  kept  the  little  chil- 
dren warm  till  they  got  houses  built. 

MOTHER.  —  Fortunately  the  Mayflower  did  not  go 
back  to  England  till  April.  So  the  women  and  chil- 
dren had  comfortable  quarters  on  board  till  the  huts 


THE   HOME   OF   FREEDOM.  91 

were  ready  for  them.  But  the  climate  was  very 
hard  upon  all  the  little  company.  They  had  never 
felt  such  severe  cold  in  England.  And  when  spring 
came,  half  their  number  had  died.  Among  these 
was  their  good  governor,  John  Carver. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  what  a  hard  time  they  must  have 
had  !  I  pity  them  more  than  I  did  the  other  set- 
tlers, because  there  were  so  many  mothers  and  little 
children.  They  were  such  good  people,  too  !  I 
wish  they  had  gone  farther  south  ;  then  they  would 
not  have  suffered  so  with  the  cold. 

MOTHER.  —  They  intended  to  go  a  little  farther 
south.  They  meant  to  land  at  the  mouth  of  Hudson 
River. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  they  had  learned  about  the 
place  from  Smith's  maps. 

MOTHER. — They  had  learned,  too,  that  some  Dutch 
settlers  had  already  landed  there,  and  liked  the  place 
much.  But  they  were  never  sorry  that  they  chose 
Plymouth  for  their  landing-place. 

WILL.  —  I  want  to  know  if  they  went  and  got  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indians,  as  Smith  did. 

MOTHER. — After  they  had  been  at  Plymouth  about 
six  months,  an  Indian  one  day  walked  boldly  into 
town,  saying,  "  Welcome,  English !  Welcome,  Eng- 
lish ! " 

LIZZIE.  —  That  is  strange  !  I  thought  the  Indians 
could  not  speak  our  language. 


92  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  This  one  had  learned  a  little  English 
from  some  fisherman  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  The 
settlers  received  him  very  kindly.  They  learned 
from  him  that  many  Indians  had  formerly  lived  at 
Plymouth,  but  a  terrible  pestilence  had  swept  them 
from  the  land.  They  also  learned  that  Massasoit, 
the  king  of  all  the  tribes  in  the  neighborhood,  was 
near  by,  and  that  he  wanted  to  open  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  settlers. 

In  a  few  days  they  were  again  surprised  by  a 
visit  from  Massasoit  himself,  accompanied  by  sixty 
of  his  followers. 

WILL.  —  Sixty  Indians  !  Why,  there  were  not  so 
many  settlers  as  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  an  anxious  time  for  the  little 
band  of  Pilgrims.  Massasoit  did  not  come  at  once 
into  town,  but  was  stationed  on  a  hill  within  sight. 
The  governor  sent  word  that  he  should  be  glad 
to  talk  with  the  Indian  king.  He  also  sent  him 
some  presents,  —  two  knives,  a  copper  chain  with 
a  jewel  in  it,  some  "strong  water"  or  whiskey,  a 
quantity  of  biscuit,  and  some  butter.  This  kind- 
ness assured  Massasoit  that  the  settlers  would  do 
him  no  harm.  So,  accompanied  by  a  few  followers 
who  had  laid  aside  their  bows  and  arrows,  he  ap- 
proached the  little  town.  The  settlers  received 
him  with  as  much  pomp  and  ceremony  as  it  was 


THE   HOME   OF   FREEDOM.  93 

in  their  power  to  do.  Captain  Standish,  with  six 
musketeers,  went  out  to  meet  him. 

Massasoit  allowed  himself  to  be  conducted  to  an 
unfinished  house,  in  which  were  placed  a  green  rug 
and  three  or  four  cushions.  Soon  the  governor 
advanced,  attended  by  a  few  soldiers,  two  of  whom 
made  a  great  flourish  with  a  drum  and  trumpet. 
Refreshments  were  then  served ;  after  which  a 
treaty  was  agreed  upon,  in  which  Massasoit  prom- 
ised to  be  a  good  friend  to  the  English,  and  to  help 
them  in  case  they  were  attacked.  In  return  the 
governor  promised  friendliness  on  the  part  of  the 
English. 

This  treaty  was  of  great  use  to  the  English  in 
many  ways.  It  was  kept  sacred  for  over  fifty 
years. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  I  am  sure  there  were  some  good- 
hearted  Indians. 

MOTHER. — The  colony  gradually  increased  in  num- 
bers. In  a  year  from  the  time  they  landed  another 
party  of  emigrants  came  over  from  England.  But 
this  was  a  great  drawback  to  the  success  of  the 
colony  during  the  next  winter. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  I  should  think  they  would  have 
been  glad  to  see  more  English  people  ! 

MOTHER.  —  So  they  were,  at  first.  But  these  last 
settlers  had  no  provisions  ;  and  the  first  comers  had 


94  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

to  share  all  their  food  with  them.  Such  was  their 
trust  in  God  they  did  not  complain,  but  gave  cheer- 
fully to  the  strangers. 

WILL.  —  Couldn't  they  get  corn  from  those  In- 
dians who  were  so  kind  to  them  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  these  Indians  were  very  poor, 
and,  like  themselves,  did  not  know  one  day  where 
they  would  get  anything  to  eat  the  next. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  !  Were  the  Pilgrims  so  poor  as 
that  ? 

MOTHER.  —  At  one  time  they  had  so  little  corn 
that  each  family  could  have  but  a  single  pint. 
When  this  was  parched  and  given  around,  they 
could  allow  but  five  kernels  at  a  time  to  each 
person.  After  this  they  had  no  corn  at  all.  And 
for  months  you  would  have  seen  nothing  on  the 
best  table  among  them  but  a  lobster,  or  a  bit  of 
fish,  and  a  pitcher  of  water. 

It  was  four  years  before  they  had  any  cattle ;  so, 
during  all  that  time,  they  had  but  little  meat.  They 
did  not  go  without  bread,  hoAvever,  after  the  second 
winter. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  they  had  no  cows  or  goats,  then  the 
little  boys  and  girls  could  have  no  milk  ! 

MOTHER.  —  I  had  not  thought  of  'that. 

WILL.  —  And,  of  course,  they  could  get  no  butter 
nor  cheese. 


THE  HOME   OF   FREEDOM.  95 

LIZZIE.  —  I  guess  they  were  glad  when  summer 
came,  for  then  they  could  get  berries. 

WILL.  —  They  could  shoot  birds,  too,  and  catch 
fish  in  the  streams. 

Did  they  have  good  luck  in  planting  ?  If  they 
had  no  cattle,  it  must  have  been  hard  work  to  get 
the  ground  ready. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  not  have  all  the  corn  they 
needed  during  the  first  two  years.  Instead  of  each 
man's  planting  for  himself,  all  worked  in  common. 
That  is,  they  worked  together,  and  then  divided  the 
corn  equally. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  think  I  should  have  liked  that. 
If  I  were  willing  to  work  more  hours  than  another 
man,  I  should  feel  as  if  I  ought  to  have  more  corn. 

MOTHER.  —  So  some  of  the  Pilgrims  thought  after 
working  in  this  way  for  two  years. 

As  soon  as  each  man  had  his  own  little  plot  of 
ground  to  plant,  everybody  became  interested  to 
see  how  much  corn  he  could  raise.  The  conse- 
quence was,  that  they  not  only  raised  enough  for 
themselves,  but  they  had  some  to  sell  to  the  Indians, 
and  to  the  fishermen  who  came  near  the  coast. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  why  the  Indians  Avanted  to 
buy.  I  should  think  they  could  have  raised  corn  of 
their  own. 

MOTHER.  —  So  they  could.     But  the  Indian  loves 


96  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

to  rove  and  hunt  better  than  to  cultivate  the 
ground.  And  if  he  can  buy  corn  with  the  furs 
he  gets  in  the  chase  he  is  glad. 

WILL.  —  The  settlers  must  have  felt  encouraged, 
if  they  could  raise  corn  enough  to  buy  furs  with. 
If  they  got  more  furs  than  they  needed,  they  could 
send  them  over  to  Europe  and  get  money  for  them. 

LIZZIE.  —  But  how  could  they  send  them,  when 
there  were  no  ships  going  back? 

MOTHER.  —  Soon  after  this  there  were  more  ships 
going  and  coming  across  the  Atlantic.  Though  the 
settlers  suffered  so  much,  they  kept  up  good  cour- 
age, and  wrote  back  such  pleasant  accounts  to  their 
English  friends,  that  more  people  came  over.  "  We 
are  happy,"  they  wrote.  "  We  havo  given  up  many 
home  comforts  that  we  had  in  England  ;  but  we  can 
worship  God  in  our  own  way.  What  more  can  we 
ask?" 


ALONE   IN   THE   WOODS.  07 


IX. 

ALONE  IN   THE  WOODS. 

MOTHER.  —  In  1629,  —  nine  years  after  the  May- 
flower caine  over,  —  one  hundred  people  arrived, 
and  made  another  settlement  at  Salem.  And  one 
year  later,  fifteen  hundred  settlers  came.  Many  of 
them  were  highly  educated.  Before  they  started 
they  chose  John  Winthrop  for  their  governor.  He 
was  a  very  kind,  unselfish  man.  He  loved  Old  Eng- 
land ;  yet  he  felt  indignant  that  kings  should  meddle 
with  what  he  thought  about  God. 

Among  the  people  who  came  over  with  him  were 
some  who  had  lived  in  such  rich  homes,  that  they 
would  have  been  discouraged  at  the  prospect  of 
living  in  the  miserable  little  houses  of  the  new 
country,  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  cheering 
words. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  all  these  people  go  and  live  with 
the  Plymouth  settlers  ? 

MOTHER. — No;  they  landed  first  at  Salem.  After- 
wards some  of  them  settled  at  Boston,  some  at 
Charlestown,  and  some  at  other  places  along  Massa- 
7 


98          THE  STORY  OP  OUR  COUNTRY. 

chusetts  Bay ;  so  that  they  were  called  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  Colony. 

LIZZIE.  —  The  Plymouth  settlers  must  have  been 
glad  to  know  there  were  so  many  more  people  from 
England  in  the  country.  They  could  go  and  see 
them  sometimes. 

WILL.  —  And  trade  with  them,  as  they  did  with 
the  Indians. 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  really  so.  Then,  too,  each 
colony  chose  a  few  men  and  sent  them  to  Boston, 
to  talk  over  what  was  for  the  best  good  of  all. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  civil  government  in 
America.  The  whole  were  governed  by  a  few  men, 
and  these  men  were  chosen  by  the  people  themselves. 

WILL.  —  The  Pilgrims  must  have  liked  that  better 
tlian  to  be  governed  by  a  king  they  hadn't  chosen, 
and  perhaps  didn't  like.  Besides,  a  king  stays  a 
king  as  long  as  lie  lives ;  and  if  he  is  a  bad  man, 
the  people  can't  help  themselves.  But  if  a  gov- 
ernor doesn't  do  the  right  thing,  why,  the  people 
can  choose  a  better  man. 

LIZZIE.  —  A  governor  would  let  people  think  as 
they  liked. 

WILL.  —  Of  course.  The  people  wouldn't  choose 
a  man  who  would  not  do  that. 

MOTHER.  —  Well,  now  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
something  that  will  surprise  you  very  much. 


ALONE    IN    THE   WOODS.  99 

LIZZIE.  —  What  is  it  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  first  dispute  the  Pilgrims  had 
was  about  letting  every  man  think  as  he  liked 
about  serving  God. 

WILL.  —  Why,  they  came  over  to  this  country, 
because  they  wanted  every  man  to  do  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  Certainly  they  did.  I  will  tell  you 
how  the  trouble  began. 

A  little  while  after  the  company  had  settled  in 
Salem,  a  very  good  young  man  came  over  from 
England1  and  landed  at  that  place.  His  name  was 
Roger  Williams.  He  was  only  thirty  years  old ;  but 
he  was  a  fine  scholar  and  a  true  gentleman.  By 
that  I  mean  he  was  always  making  others  happy, 
wherever  he  went.  This  Roger  Williams  was  a 
minister ;  and  he  left  England  because  he  was  not 
allowed  to  preach  what  he  thought  was  right. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  I  should  think  the  Pilgrims  would 
have  liked  him. 

MOTHER.  —  So  they  did,  until  they  found  that  he 
did  not  believe  just  as  they  did.  You  see,  by  this 
time,  a  great  many  people  were  coming  over  from 
England.  Some  liked  to  go  to  church,  and  were 
willing  to  pay  to  help  support  it ;  while  others  did 
not  care  to  go,  and  were  not  willing  to  pay  any 
money  for  it. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  they  wanted  their  money  for 
other  things. 


100  THE   STORY   OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  No  doubt.  They  were  already  start- 
ing schools,  and  perhaps  some  felt  more  interested 
in  them.  But,  at  any  rate,  the  laws  of  Massachu- 
setts said,  "  Every  man  must  go  to  church.  Every 
man  must  give  something  to  support  the  church." 

WILL.  —  Then  if  the  laws  said  so,  the  men  that 
made  the  laws  must  have  all  believed  alike  about  it. 

MOTHER.  —  The  few  men  who  came  over  from 
Europe  at  first  did  all  think  alike.  But  you  can 
see  that  when  people  came  over  by  thousands,  there 
must  have  been  many  who  did  not  think  as  the  Pil- 
grims did. 

When  Roger  Williams  saw  that  they  punished 
people  for  not  going  to  church,  he  said,  "  Your  laws 
are  wrong  !  It  is  right  to  punish  a  man  for  stealing, 
but  not  for  staying  away  from  church.'' 

The  Pilgrims  did  not  see  it  so  ;  and  they  said, 
"  You  must  not  teach  our  children  such  wicked 
notions  as  these.  Men  who  will  not  go  to  church 
are  not  fit  to  take  part  in  the  government.  We 
want  no  such  men  here.  But  Roger  Williams  was 
firm.  He  said,  "  I  left  my  native  land  because  I 
could  not  speak  the  truth  as  I  saw  it.  You  may 
banish  me  from  the  country  ;  you  may  take  my  life  ; 
but  you  shall  not  take  away  my  freedom ! "  Yet 
all  this  time  he  was  so  kind-hearted,  that  those  who 
lived  near  him  loved  him.  They  even  chose  him  for 


ALONE   IN   THE   WOODS.  101 

minister  at  Salem.  But  when  the  people  at  Boston 
heard  of  it,  they  were  very  indignant ;  and  they 
sent  word  to  Salem  that  Roger  Williams  was  a  very 
unsafe  man  for  a  preacher.  "  He  is  trying  to  over- 
throw our  government,"  they  said. 

To  this  Eoger  Williams  replied,  "  I  am  not  try- 
ing to  overthrow  your  government ;  I  am  trying 
to  prevent  you  from  doing  that  yourselves.  Your 
laws  are  not  wise,  if  they  do  not  provide  for  the 
good  of  all.  I  believe  that  God  has  chosen  this 
great  country  to  be  an  asylum  for  the  poor  and 
oppressed  of  all  lands.  And  how  can  that  place 
be  home  to  a  man  where  he  cannot  enjoy  his 
religion  ?  " 

WILL.  —  Did  the  Pilgrims  agree  with  him  then  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No  ;  and  the  people  of  Boston,  where 
the  courts  were  held,  were  so  indignant  at  the 
Salem  people  for  making  Roger  Williams  their 
minister,  that  they  took  away  a  large  tract  of  land 
belonging  to  them.  They  also  declared  that  the 
Salem  settlement  should  no  longer  be  under  their 
protection. 

This  made  the  Salem  people  sorry  for  what  they 
had  done.  So  they  wrote  a  letter  to  the  governor 
at  Boston,  and  said  so. 

WILL.  —  Then  the  Salem  people  were  cowards. 

MOTHER.  —  At  last  Roger  Williams  had  no  friend 


102  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

left  who  believed  in  him.  Even  his  wife,  Mary, 
thought  he  was  wrong. 

"  If  I  cannot  stay  here  and  believe  and  say  what 
I  think  is  right,  I  will  go  to  another  part  of  the 
country,"  said  Roger  Williams. 

But  the  people  at  Boston  heard  of  this,  and 
determined  to  send  him  out  of  the  country  alto- 
gether. 

WILL.  —  He  must  have  been  a  smart  man,  if  they 
were  as  afraid  of  him  as  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  He  was ;  and  too  wise  a  man  to  be 
caught.  For  when  the  officers  went  into  his  house 
to  arrest  him  and  put  him  on  board  a  ship  that  was 
just  ready  to  sail  for  England,  he  was  gone,  no  one 
knew  where. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  his  wife  go  with  him  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  she  did  not ; 
for  during  the  next  three  and  a  half  months  he  was 
wandering  through  the  snowy  forests,  often  without 
food,  and  with  no  shelter  but  a  hollow  tree. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  that  was  too  bad  ! 

WILL.  —  I  didn't  think  the  Pilgrims  could  treat  a 
man  so  —  an  honest  man,  too  !  Why,  I  think  he 
was  the  truest,  best  man  of  them  all.  Of  course 
he  was  not  going  to  help  them  make  a  government 
like  the  one  they  had  left  in  England. 

MOTHER.  —  No,  indeed  !     And    his  heart  was  so 


ALONE    IN    THE    WOODS. 


103 


^M^f-      ,  ;    I...-P.     ii-t    I* 

^  -V   y^S-i^      -Sp9^    thought  not   only 
(^'^^     of    the    good    of 

Roger  Williams  searching  for  a  Sleep-      thoge     alrea(3y     Jn 
ing-place  in  the  Wilderness. 

America,  but  he 

thought  of  the  millions  that  might  come  from  all 
lands  in  the  future.  But  if  Roger  Williams  was 
homeless,  he  was  not  without  friends. 

WILL.  —  Then  I  know  who  would  be  kind  to 
him,  —  the  Indians  ! 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  He  found  a  welcome 
in  every  Indian  hut  which  he  entered.  He  was  no 
stranger  to  the  red  men.  He  had  often  visited 


104  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

their  lowly  homes,  and  had  learned  something  of 
their  language.  After  a  while  he  came  to  Massa- 
soit's  humble  dwelling;  and  the  kind-hearted  king, 
who  had  before  promised  friendliness  to  the  Eng- 
lish, now  gladly  opened  his  door -to  the  homeless 
man,  and  showed  him  a  generous  hospitality. 

At  another  time  Roger  Williams  visited  some 
Indians  farther  south,  called  the  Narragansetts ;  and 
their  chief,  Canonicus,  usually  thought  to  be  a  very 
cruel  Indian,  loved  him  as  his  own  son. 

WILL.  —  Did  Roger  Williams  stay  long  among 
the  Indians  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Not  long.  He  was  anxious  to  start  a 
little  colony  somewhere  out  of  Massachusetts,  and 
have  a  government  which  Avould  not  meddle  with 
the  churches  at  all.  Just  then  he  received  a  letter 
from  Governor  Winthrop,  which  surprised  him  very 
much. 

LIZZIE.  —  Who  was  Governor  Winthrop  ? 

WILL.  —  Why,  I  remember  ;  he  was  governor  of 
Massachusetts. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  His  letter  gave  Roger 
Williams  the  unexpected  hint  to  go  to  Narragansett 
Bay  and  settle,  as  no  Englishman  had  as  yet  any 
claim  to  the  land. 

Roger  Williams  took  this  advice.  By  that  time 
five  old  friends  had  joined  him,  saying  they  wanted 


ALONE  IN   THE   WOODS.  105 

to  help  him  make  a  new  settlement.  So,  in  June  of 
1636,  —  sixteen  years  after  the  Pilgrims  first  landed 
at  Plymouth, —  Roger  Williams  and  his  five  friends 
got  into  a  canoe,  and  paddled  down  a  little  stream 
that  flows  into  Narragansett  Bay.  They  stopped  at 
the  head  of  the  bay,  at  a  place  that  seemed  to  be  a 
pleasant  spot  for  a  settlement. 

"  The  providence  of  God  has  cared  for  me,  and 
led  me  hither ;  therefore  I  will  name  the  place 
Providence,"  said  he.  And  it  has  been  called 
Providence  ever  since. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  that  is  the  capital  of  Rhode 
Island  ! 

MOTHER.  —  And  now  you  know  who  founded 
Rhode  Island.  This  land  belonged  then  to  the 
Narragansett  Indians.  But  when  their  chief,  Ca- 
nonicus,  found  that  his  white  friend,  whom  he  loved 
so  dearly,  was  going  to  settle  there,  he  made  him  a 
present  of  a  large  tract. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  could  he  do  with  so  much  land  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Roger  Williams  had  been  there  but  a 
little  while,  when  many  others  joined  him  from  the 
different  settlements.  And  some  came  from  Eng- 
land to  Rhode  Island,  having  heard  that  the  most 
freedom  could  be  found  there. 

Roger  Williams  gave  his  land  away  freely  to 
those  who  were  not  able  to  buv  it  for  themselves. 


106  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

So  that  he  had  only  as  much  left  for  himself  as  the 
humblest  stranger  among  them. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  he  always  live  in  Rhode  Island  after 
that  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Always.  But  he  visited  England  in  a 
few  years,  to  get  a  charter  for  the  colony. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  do  you  mean  by  a  charter  ? 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  a  paper  from  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, saying  that  his  people  in  America  might 
govern  themselves  and  choose  their  own  officers. 
The  Massachusetts  colony  had  such  a  charter ;  and 
Roger  Williams  was  glad  to  receive  one  for  Rhode 
Island,  too. 

Nothing  better  shows  us  what  a  good  man  he 
was,  than  the  fact  that  he  always  loved  and  spoke 
well  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony,  even  after 
they  had  driven  him  from  his  home  into  the  wilder- 
ness. 

He  lived  to  be  seventy-seven  years  old  ;  and  died 
as  he  had  lived,  beloved  of  many. 


MORE   COLONIES.  107 


X. 


MORE   COLONIES. 

MOTHER.  —  Tell  me  the  names  of  the  colonies  you 
have  already  heard  about. 

LIZZIE.  —  Virginia,  Massachusetts,  and  Rhode 
Island. 

WILL.  —  Didn't  you  tell  us  that  some  Dutch  peo- 
ple went  to  New  York? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
English  had  not  discovered  the  north-west  passage 
to  India,  the  government  of  the  Netherlands  — 
or  Holland  and  Belgium  —  said,  "  Perhaps  we  can 
find  it.  We  ought  to,  if  any  one  can;  for  we  own 
more  ships  than  all  the  rest  of  Europe." 

So  they  fitted  out  a  large  ship,  and  gave  the  com- 
mand of  it  to  Henry  Hudson. 

LIZZIE.  —  Now  I  know  where  the  Hudson  River 
got  its  name. 

MOTHER.  —  I  see  you  are  guessing  out  my  story. 
Six  years  before  the  Puritans  landed  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Hudson  sailed  up  the  beautiful  river 
which  is  called  after  him ;  and  he  was  disappointed 
when  his  vessel  could  go  no  farther. 


108  THE   STORY    OP    OUR    COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  Ho  know  then  that  lie  hadn't  found  the 
way  to  India. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes;  and  this  was  such  a  disappoint- 
ment to  Holland,  that  he  was  not  sent  again.  But 
a  great  many  Dutch  people  came  to  America  after 
this,  and  settled  in  what  we  now  call  New  York  and 
New  Jersey. 

LIZZIE.  —  That  makes  two  more  settlements.  So 
we  now  know  of  five  colonies. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Dutch  did  not  come  over  for  the 
Bame  reason  that  the  Puritans  did.  They  were 
mostly  traders.  They  bought  furs  of  the  natives, 
and  sent  them  back  to  Europe.  They  put  up  the 
Dutch  flag  at  first,  thus  showing  that  they  claimed 
the  country  for  Holland.  But  afterwards  some  of 
their  governors  did  not  treat  them  well;  so  they 
were  glad  to  pull  down  the  Dutch  flag,  and  live 
under  the  English  flag. 

Have  you  noticed  that  all  the  people  who  came 
over  to  America  settled  along  tlie  coast? 

WILL.  —  Of  course.  They  could  not  get  far  into 
the  country  on  account  of  the  forests. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  If  you  will  look  at 
your  maps,  and  follow  along  the  coast,  it  will  be 
easy  for  you  to  tell  me  the  names  of  the  Thirteen 
Colonies  that  were  first  settled.  Begin  at  Now 
Hampshire. 


MORE   COLONIES. 


109 


WILL.  —  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina,  Georgia,  — 

MOTHER.  —  There ,  you  have  named  thirteen. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  all  the  other  settlers  suffer  as  much 
as  those  you  have  told  us  about  ? 


'S^^pr 


MOTHER.  —  Mo;  but 
nearly  all  suffered  from 
the  cruelty  ofthe  Indians. 
The  later  the  settlement, 

Cottiers  Emigrating   to  Conuec-     the  less  trouble  did  they 

ticut-  have. 

The  Connecticut  settlers  had  a  hard  time.     About 


110  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

fifteen  years  after  the  Puritans  landed,  a  large  col- 
ony of  men,  women  and  children  emigrated  from 
Massachusetts  to  Connecticut.  They  started  in  the 
fall  of  the  year,  driving  their  cattle  hefore  them. 
Their  only  guide  Avas  a  compass.  Their  bed  at 
night  was  the  rocky  hill-side.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  milk  of  the  cattle,  many  little  children  would 
have  died ;  for  their  march  through  the  wilderness 
was  so  much  more  difficult  than  they  had  expected, 
that  they  did  not  reach  Connecticut  till  after  winter 
had  set  in,  and  their  provisions  had  given  out. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  made  them  go  to  Connecticut  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  heard  it  was  a  beautiful 
place,  and  that  the  land  was  made  rich  by  a  large 
river  and  its  branches. 

WILL.  —  That  was  the  Connecticut  River. 

MOTHER.  —  In  the  following  year  a  large  company 
from  England  joined  them.  After  this  they  had 
less  suffering. 

There  was  one  other  New  England  colony  of  which 
I  must  tell  you.  New  Hampshire  was  settled  in 
1623  by  a  few  English  merchants,  who  built  little 
houses  along  the  principal  rivers.  The  settlement 
did  not  increase  so  rapidly  as  the  others. 

If  you  will  look  again  at  your  mapsy  beginning  at 
NCAV  Hampshire,  you  will  find  I  have  told  you  some- 
thing about  every  colony  till  we  reach  Delaware. 


MOKE    COLONIES.  Ill 

Delaware  was  settled  by  a  company  from  Sweden. 
They  had  very  little  trouble  with  the  Indians,  for 
they  were  protected  by  the  surrounding  colonies. 
As  the  settlement  increased  in  size,  the  Dutch  in 
New  York  became  jealous,  for  they  felt  they  had 
the  first  claim  to  the  land.  So  they  drove  the 
Swedes  away. 

WILL.  —  But  you  said  that  the  Dutch  lived  under 
the  English  flag  after  they  had  been  in  this  country 
a  few  years. 

MOTHER.  —  Tin's  was  after  Delaware  was  taken 
from  the  Swedes.  So  you  see  the  little  colony  was 
claimed  at  different  times  by  three  nations,  —  first 
by  Sweden,  then  by  Holland,  and  finally  by  Eng- 
lind. 

As  there  is  nothing  else  very  striking  in  its  story, 
we  will  pass  on  to  Maryland,  —  the  colony  that  was 
settled  Avith  the  fewest  hardships.  It  is  a  beautiful 
spot;  and  the  Virginians  were  very  anxious  to  in- 
clude it  within  their  colony.  But  twenty-seven 
years  alter  Jamestown  was  settled,  a  company  of 
Catholics  sailed  up  the  Potomac.  They  had  been 
sent  out  by  Lord  Baltimore,  to  whom  the  English 
king  had  given  a  grant  of  land. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  did  they  have  an  easy  time? 

MOTHER.  —  They  arrived  in  the  spring  of  the  year. 
Lord  Baltimore,  who  was  very  wealthy,  had  pro- 


112  THE  STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

vided  generously  for  their  comfort.  Their  leader, 
Culvert,  was  a  good  and  wise  man,  \vlio  made  only 
such  laws  as  were  for  the  good  of  all. 

WILL.  —  Then  he  didn't  punish  people  for  not 
thinking  all  alike  —  did  he? 

MOTHER.  —  No.  And  this  \vas  the  principal  reason 
why  the  Man  land  settlers  were  happy:  each  man 
was  left  in  freedom  to  think  for  himself. 

LIZZIE.  —  Of  course  they  would  agree,  if  they 
were  all  Catholics. 

MOTHER.  —  But  other  people,  who  did  not  agree 
with  them  in  religion,  went  afterwards  to  Maryland, 
and  were  left  in  perfect  freedom. 

WILL.  —  You  said  just  now  that  these  Catholics 
came  over  twenty-seven  years  after  John  Smith  did. 
Then  they  must  have  landed  in  1633 ;  and  that  was 
three  years  before  Roger  Williams  went  to  Rhode 
Island. 

MOTHER.  —  Can  you  think  of  a  city  that  was  named 
after  the  man  who  sent  out  the  Maryland  settlers? 

LIZZIE.  —  I  can,  —  Baltimore. 

MOTHER.  —  North  and  South  Carolina  were  set- 
tled by  people  from  England,  Holland,  and  France. 
Many  from  the  northern  colonies  joined  them. 

WILL.  —  You  haven't  told  us  anything  before 
about  folks  coming  over  from  France;  but  I  should 
think  they  would  have  been  glad  to  come,  for  you 


MORE   COLONIES.  113 

said  that  a  hundred  thousand  people  were  killed 
there  at  one  time. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  There  were  many  in 
France  who  thought  as  the  Puritans  did.  They  were 
called  Huguenots.  About  fifty  years  after  the  Puri- 
tans landed,  a  great  many  Huguenots  went  to  what 
we  now  call  North  and  South  Carolina."  The  first 
settlers  were  very  glad  to  have  these  Frenchmen 
come,  for  there  were  many  fine  workmen  among 
them,  —  mechanics,  and  artists.  The  other  countries 
in  Europe  would  gladly  have  welcomed  them ;  for 
their  industry  and  tasto  for  the  fine  arts  enriched 
every  place  they  settled  in. 

WILL.  —  Did  the  French  king  give  them  a 
charter? 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  they  had  been  so  persecuted  at 
home,  that  they  lost  all  love  for  the  French  govern- 
ment ;  and  they  were  glad  to  live  under  the  English 
flag.  There  was  no  American  flag  then,  you  know. 

1  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  Huguenots  suffered 
much  during  their  first  year  or  two  in  America. 
But  it  was  well  that  they  went  to  the  Carolinas,  for 
the  climate  there  is  much  more  like  sunny  France 
than  in  the  other  colonies. 


114  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XL 

A   FRIEND   TO   THE   INDIANS. 

WILL.  —  Can't  you  tell  us  about  some  other  brave 
man  that  had  strange  adventures  ? 

MOTHER.  —  You  know  there  are  two  colonies  of 
which  I  have  given  you  no  account  yet.  I  hope 
the  story  of  the  one  I  am  to  tell  you  about  now 
will  interest  you.  It  was  started  by  a  man  who 
believed  he  could  get  along  peaceably  with  the 
Indians  ;  and  he  always  did.  His  name  was  Perm ; 
and  the  colony  was  named  after  him. 

WILL.  —  Penn !  Then  you  are  going  to  tell  us 
about  Pennsylvania ! 

MOTHER.  —  Which  means  "  Penn's  Woods."  Wil- 
liam Penn  was  born  in  London.  He  was  a  Quaker, 
—  that  is,  he  was  one  of  those  who  believe  it  is 
wrong  to  go  to  war,  or  even  to  defend  one's  self  in 
danger,  save  by  kindness  and  love.  He  also  be- 
lieved that  all  men  are  equal  in  the  sight  of  God, — 
that  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  educated  and 
ignorant,  share  alike  the  Heavenly  Father's  love. 
"  Why,  then,"  said  he,  "should  one  do  homage  to  a 
king,  more  than  to  any  other  man?"  "  No,"  said 


A   FRIEND   TO   THE   INDIANS.  115 

he  and  the  other  Quakers,  "  we  will  not  take  off  our 
hats  even  in  the  presence  of  nobles  or  kings." 

This  got  the  Quakers  into  trouble,  —  particularly 
William  Penn,  whose  father  was  an  admiral  in  the 
English  navy,  and  who  often  attended  the  king's 
court.  Of  course  the  son  was  known  at  court 
also. 

LIZZIE.  —  Was  William  Penn's  father  a  Quaker  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  not ;  and  he  was  so  vexed  to 
find  his  son  would  carry  his  Quaker  manners  into 
court,  that  he  drove  him  from  home.  He  might 
never  again  have  noticed  William,  if  the  kind  moth- 
er had  not  pleaded  for  him.  But  she  urged  the 
father  so  much  to  take  pity  on  the  wanderer,  who 
had  no  money  and  no  place  to  lay  his  head,  that 
finally  the  father  forgave  him. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  the  court  people,  too, 
would  have  been  vexed  at  Perm,  if  they  knew  why 
he  kept  on  his  hat. 

MOTHER.  —  They  were  very  angry  with  him. 
After  a  while  he  was  looked  upon  as  such  an  en- 
emy to  .the  government,  that  he  was  arrested  and 
put  into  prison.  But  this  did  not  alter  his  love 
for  the  Quaker  faith.  He  afterwards  travelled  in 
Holland  and  Germany,  preaching  with  such  ear- 
nestness that  many  people  who  heard  him  became 
Quakers. 


116  THE   STORY    OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  Then  they  must  have  had  to  suffer,  as 
the  Puritans  did. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  think  I  know  what  would  happen 
next :  the  Quakers  who  had  to  suffer  would  want  to 
go  to  America. 

MOTHER.  —  That  was  so.  William  Penn  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  help  the  Quakers.  He  wrote 
books  to  show  that  the  governments  had  no  right  to 
trouble  them  if  they  did  no  real  wrong.  He  also 
freely  said  this  whenever  he  met  any  of  the  king's 
friends. 

WILL.  —  I  shouldn't  think  he  would  have  met  the 
court  people  after  he  had  been  arrested. 

MOTHER.  —  His  pleasant  manners  and  kind,  gen- 
erous heart  always  made  him  a  favorite  at  court  in 
spite  of  his  views.  At  one  time,  even  the  king  took 
great  notice  of  him. 

LIZZIE.  —  Perhaps  William  Penn  thought  it  was  a 
good  plan  to  make  friends  at  court,  so  that  he  could 
help  the  Quakers. 

MOTHER.  —  I  think  that  was  his  chief  reason  in 
so  doing,  for  his  own  tastes  were  very  plain  and 
simple.  But  when  he  found  there  could  be  no 
peace  for  the  Quakers  in  Europe,  he,  was  very  anx- 
ious to  be  the  means  of  providing  comfortable  homes 
for  them  in  America. 


A   FRIEND   TO   THE   INDIANS.  117 

When  Perm's  father  died,  the  king  was  owing 
him  a  large  sum  of  money  for  important  military 
services. 

WILL.  —  Then  the  king  ought  to  have  given  the 
money  to  William  Penn. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  he  ought.  But  Charles  IT.  was  a 
very  extravagant  king,  and  never  had  any  money  to 
spare.  So  when  Pcnn  offered  to  take,  instead  of 
the  money,  a  tract  of  land  in  America,  Charles  II. 
gladly  consented.  And  in  August,  1682,  William 
Penn  and  a  number  of  Quaker  friends  sailed  for  the 
Delaware,  reaching  that  river  after  a  voyage  of  six 
weeks. 

WILL.  —  In  1682 ;  that  was  seventy-six  years 
after  the  Jamestown  settlement. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  sixty-two  years  after  the  Puritans 
came  to  Plymouth.  So  he  must  have  had  a  good 
deal  easier  time  than  they  did. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  There  were  already  a  number 
of  Quakers  near  the  Delaware ;  and  when  Penn 
landed,  they  flocked  about  him  and  gave  him  a 
hearty  welcome. 

A  few  days  after  this,  Penn  took  a  boat,  and  with 
a  few  friends  sailed  up  the  river  till  they  came  to 
a  peninsula  formed  by  the  meeting  of  two  rivers  — 
the  Delaware  and  Sctmylkill.  Mooring  their  boat, 
they  scrambled  up  the  river-bank.  It  was  a  sunny 


118  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

day  in  October.  As  they  stood  under  the  elm  trees 
on  the  high  spot  of  ground  which  separated  the  two 
streams,  and  looked  over  the  country,  beautiful  with 
autumn  foliage,  William  Penn  said,  "  I  have  seen 
the  finest  cities  of  Europe,  but  I  never  saw  so  beau- 
tiful a  site  for  a  city  as  this  ! " 

WILL.  —  Then  didn't  he  choose  that  place  to  set- 
tle in? 

MOTHER.  —  The  land  was  already  claimed  by  some 
people  who  had  come  from  Sweden.  But  Penn  was 
so  charmed  with  the  situation  that  he  bought  the 
land  from  the  Swedes,  and  it  soon  became  the  prin- 
cipal place  of  the  settlement. 

William  Penn  took  great  interest  in  laying  out 
and  beautifying  it.  He  said  he  hoped  the  place 
would  always  be  noted  for  the  kind  feeling  of  its 
people.  So  he  called  it  Philadelphia,  which  means 
"  brotherly  love." 

WILL.  —  You  said  that  Penn  had  no  trouble  with 
the  Indians.  Were  there  many  about  there  ? 

MOTHER.  —  There  were  nineteen  tribes  in  and 
around  Pennsylvania.  Of  course  William  Penn  had 
never  known  any  Indians  till  he  came  to  America. 
But  he  reasoned  thus  about  them :  "  Is  not  God  the 
Father  of  the  red  man  as  He  is  of  us?  And  should 
we  not  love  all  his  children?" 

So  William    Penri  went  among  the  natives  with 


A    FRIEND    TO    THE   INDIANS.  119 

the  feeling  that  he  was  no  better  than  they;  and 
he  always  treated  them  with  loving  courtesy. 

A  few  weeks  after  he  landed,  he  sent  word  to  the 
various  tribes  around,  that  he  would  meet  them  on 
a  certain  day  to  make  a  treaty.  At  the  time  set, 
crowds  of  the  tawny-skinned  natives  assembled 
under  the  elm  trees  a  little  way  north  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

William  Penn  was  then  thirty-eight  years  old, 
graceful  and  fine-looking;  and  as  he  stood  before 
them  in  simple  dress,  surrounded  only  by  a  few 
Quaker  friends,  every  Indinn  heart  was  moved  to 
love  him  as  he  uttered  these  words:  — 

"  I  will  not  call  you  children,  for  parents  some- 
times chide  their  children  too  severely ;  nor  broth- 
ers only,  for  brothers  differ.  The  friendship  be- 
tween you  and  me  I  will  not  compare  to  a  chain, 
for  that  the  rains  might  rust  or  the  falling  tree 
might  break.  We  are  the  same  as  if  one  man's 
body  were  to  be  divided  into  two  parts ;  we  are  all 
one  flesh  and  blood." 

LIZZIE.  —  The  Indians  must  have  liked  that.  What 
did  they  say? 

MOTHER.  —  They  said  :  "  We  will  live  in  love  and 
peace  with  William  Penn  and  his  children,  as  long 
as  the  sun  and  moon  shall  endure."  This  treaty 
never  was  broken. 


120 


THE    STORY    OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 


LIZZIE.  —  And  that  was  because  he   really  loved 
the  Indians. 

MOTHER.  —  During  the  year  following  the  treaty, 
William  Penn  often  met  the  Indians  at  their  councils 
or  at  their  festivals.  He  visited  them  in  their 
cabins  and  shared  their  roasted  corn  and  hominy. 
He  laughed  and  frolicked  with  the  little  pappooses, 
or  joined  in  the  out- 
door games  of  the 
warriors.  Some- 


Penn  accepting  the  Hospitality  of  the  Indians. 

limes  he  talked  with  them  about  religion.  He 
found  that  they  had  faith  in  God,  whom  they  called 
the  Great  Spirit.  They  believed  the  Croat  Spirit 
made  all  things,  and  that  he  loved  his  children.  No 


A    FRIEND    TO    THE   INDIANS.  121 

Indian  was  afraid  to  die,  because  they  fully  believed 
that  better  hunting-grounds  were  awaiting  them, 
if  they  had  been  good  Indians, —  had  been  brave, 
hospitable  to  strangers,  and  had  never  broken  a 
promise. 

LIZZIE.  —  With  so  many  good  friends  around  them, 
I  don't  see  why  the  Pennsylvania  settlers  could  not 
have  had  an  easy  time. 

MOTHER.  —  As  long  as  William  Penn  staid  among 
them,  everything  went  along  pleasantly.  People 
from  other  countries  in  Europe  who  were  looking 
to  America  heard  that  great  freedom  of  thought 
was  allowed  to  eveiy  man  in  Pennsylvania;  and 
also  that  there  was  no  trouble  with  the  Indians. 
For  these  reasons  the  settlement  grew  more  rapidly 
than  any  of  the  others. 

In  1G83,  Philadelphia  consisted  of  three  or  four 
little  cottages.  In  two  years  after,  there  wore  six 
hundred,  also  schools  and  a  printing-press  :  so  that  in 
three  years  Philadelphia  had  grown  more  than  New 
York  city  had  dona  in  half  a  century. 

WILL.  —  Then  William  Pcnn  did  riot  always  re- 
main in  America. 

MOTHER.  —  Xo;  he  went  back  to  England  to  help 
the  Quakers,  many  of  whom  were  imprisoned.  He 
afterwards  returned  to  this  country,  remaining  only 
two  years  however,  when  important  business  called 
him  again  to  Englui  1. 


122  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

After  this  came  the  most  severe  trials  of  his  life. 
His  son,  whom  he  had  sent  to  Pennsylvania  in  his 
stead,  not  only  neglected  his  affairs,  but  disgraced 
him  by  habits  of  dissipation.  Another  trouble  also 
came :  a  man  with  whom  he  had  intrusted  his  money 
matters  in  America,  proved  dishonest,  and  got  Penn 
in  debt  to  a  large  amount,  so  that  ho  had  to  go  to 
prison. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  dear! 'it  seems  as  if  the  good  men 
always  had  to  suffer. 

MOTHER.  —  This  was  hard  on  Penn,  for  he  was 
then  sixty-four  years  old.  After  remaining  in  prison 
for  many  years,  he  was  set  free  by  the  help  of 
friends.  He  did  not  live  long  after  this,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight. 

Although  terrible  times  frequently  aroso  between 
the  different  colonies  and  the  natives,  it  is  said  that 
no  Quaker  blood  was  ever  shed  by  an  Indian,  —  so 
much  did  the  red  man  love  and  honor  the  name  of 
William  Penn. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  in  after  years  the  descend- 
ants of  this  good  man  did  not  show  the  same  loving, 
unselfish  spirit  which  he  had  done  in  managing  the 
colony. 

You  have  now  heard  something  about  twelve  dif- 
ferent colonies. 

WILL.  —  Georgia  is  the  only  one  you  have  not 
told  us  about. 


A   FRIEND   TO   THE   INDIANS.  123 

MOTHER.  —  There  ia  nothing  very  interesting  to 
tell  about  it.  It  was  the  last  colony  established, 
having  been  settled  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
years  after  the  first  settlement  of  Jamestown. 

WILL.  —  That  must  have  been  in  1733. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  Now  please  look  on 
the  map  and  tell  me  again  the  names  of  the  thirteen 
colonies. 


124  THE   STORY    OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 


XII. 
THE  PEQUOD  WAR. 

WILL.  —  You  said,  in  our  last  talk,  that  some  of 
the  colonists  had  trouble  with  the  Indians.  Please 
tell  us  about  it. 

MOTHER.  —  In  order  to  do  so,  we  shall  have  to  go 
back  to  the  time  when  Connecticut  was  first  settled. 

WILL.  —  That  was  when  the  company  of  emi- 
grants left  Massachusetts  for  Connecticut,  about 
fifteen  years  after  Plymouth  was  settled. 

LIZZIE.  —  Which  made  it  about  1635. 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  right.  As  soon  as  they  had 
finished  their  weary  march  through  the  wilderness, 
before  they  had  completed  their  miserable  little 
huts,  they  had  constant  attacks  from  the  Indians. 

LIZZIE.  —  It  wasn't  the  tribe  that  was  so  kind  to 
Roger  Williams  —  was  it? 

WILL.  —  You  mean  the  Narragansetts. 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  a  much  larger  tribe  than  the 
Narragansetts,  and  far  more  fierce  and  cruel.  They 
were  called  the  Pequods,  and  numbered  seven  hun- 
dred warriors ;  while  the  colony  could  only  muster 
two  hundred  soldiers. 


THE   PEQUOD    WAR.  125 

LIZZIE.  —  What  made  the  Indians  so  cruel  to  the 
whites  ? 

MOTHER.  —  They  felt  that  Connecticut  belonged 
to  them  alone,  and  that  the  English  had  no  right 
there. 

The  Pequods  had  been  deadly  enemies  of  the 
Narragansetts  for  a  long  time.  But  when  they 
foresaw  that  the  English  were  likely  to  get  all  the 
land  into  their  hands,  they  went  to  Carionicus,  the 
chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  to  see  if  he  would  join 
them  against  the  English,  and  kill  or  drive  every 
white  man  from  the  country. 

This  was  a  perilous  time  to  the  Connecticut  set- 
tlers. "  If  the  two  tribes  unite  against  us,"  said 
they,  "  we  must  give  up  at  once.  If  we  could  only 
get  Canonicus  to  join  with  us,  we  should  be  safe." 

WILL.  —  The  settlers  must  have  known  how  much 
Canonicus  thought  of  Roger  Williams.  Why  didn't 
they  get  him  to  go  and  say  a  good  word  for  them  ? 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  exactly  what  they  did  do. 
And  Roger  Williams  showed  the  generosity  of  his 
heart  when,  starting  off  alone  in  a  poor  canoe,  he 
hastened  through  a  driving  storm  to  the  home  of 
Canonicus,  to  plead  for  those  who  had  once  driven 
him  into  the  wilderness. 

The  bloodthirsty  chiefs  of  the  Pequods  were  al- 
ready there.  For  three  days  and  three  nights,  Roger 


126 


THE   STOEY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


Williams  ate  and  slept  with  them,  knowing  that  at 
any  moment  his  throat  might  be  cut.  Finally,  through 
his  gentle  influence,  the  Narragansetts  decided  to 
remain  friendly  to  the  English. 


But  the  Connecticut 
settlers  were  never  for  a 
moment  safe.  Wherever 

they    might   be,   in   the 
Indians  attacking  the  Settlers.     field>     arQimd     the     fire. 

place,  or  singing  songs  of  worship  in  their  little 
churches,  they  were  liable  to  be  attacked  by  the 
cruel  Pequods.  At  last,  the  settlers  could  endure 
it  110  longer.  They  must  protect  the  homes  .of  their 


THE    PEQUOD    WAE.  127 

wives  and  children.  And  in  the  year  1637  began 
the  terrible  Pequod  war. 

The  English,  headed  by  Captain  John  Mason,  and 
aided  by  the  Narragansetts  and  a  few  other  tribes, 
made  an  attack  on  the  principal  fort  of  the  Pequods. 
It  was  just  before  dawn.  The  Indians  were  sleep- 
ing. While  the  English  soldiers  were  ascending 
the  hill  on  top  of  which  stood  the  fort,  a  watch-dog 
barked  an  alarm.  The  Indians  awoke  and  hastened 
to  the  fight.  They  numbered  nearly  three  times  as 
many  as  the  English,  and  it  seemed  as  if  they  must 
conquer. 

"  We  must  burn  them  !  "  shouted  Mason  ;  and  he 
threw  firebrands  among  the  light  mats  of  the  wig- 
wams. In  a  few  moments,  the  whole  encampment 
was  in  a  blaze.  Six  hundred  Indians  —  men,  women, 
and  children  —  perished  in  the  flames;  while  only 
two  of  the  English  had  fallen  in  battle. 

In  a  few  days,  more  troops  came  from  Massachu- 
setts. The  other  Indian  villages  were  attacked; 
every  wigwam  was  laid  in  ruins.  Their  chief  fled, 
and  was  afterwards  killed  by  a,  hostile  Indian.  Of 
the  few  Pequods  remaining,  some  joined  the  Narra- 
gansetts; the  rest  were  sold  by  the  English  into 
slavery.  Thus  perished  the  tribe  of  the  Pequods, 
and  the  Connecticut  settlers  rejoiced  in  victory. 

LIZZIE.  —  But,  0,  mother,    how  they  must   have 


128  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

felt  when  they  thought  of  tho  Indian  mothers  and 
little  children  that  had  been  burned  to  death  ! 

WILL. — Yes;  but  their  own  mothers  and  chil- 
dren would  have  been  killed,  perhaps,  if  the  Pe- 
quods  hadn't  been  destroyed. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  believe  it !  They  might  have 
offered  to  buy  the  land.  They  might  have  treated 
the  Indians  as  William  Penn  did  afterwards ;  then 
they  wouldn't  have  had  to  be  so  cruel. 

MOTHER.  —  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Pequods 
were  more  fierce  and  cruel  than  the  tribes  in  Penn- 
sylvania; but  I  feel  sure  that  more  kindness  on  tho 
part  of  the  white  people  would  have  brought  about 
a  different  treatment  from  the  Indians. 


KING  PHILIP'S  WAR.  129 


XIII. 

KING   PHILIP'S  WAR. 

WILL.  —  What  other  colony  had  quarrels  with 
the  Indians? 

MOTHER.  —  The  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  set- 
tlements, —  or  we  will  say  the  Massachusetts  col- 
ony, as  the  two  were  united. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  I  thought  the  treaty  with  the 
great  Indian  chief — 

WILL.  —  Massasoit  — 

LIZZIE.  —  Yes  ;  —  I  thought  the  treaty  with  Mas- 
sasoit wasn't  broken  for  over  fifty  years. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  quite  right.  And  it  was  not 
till  after  his  death  that  the  troubles  began.  Massa- 
soit always  showed  a  very  kind  feeling  toward  the 
whites.  During  the  Indian  war  of  1637,  he  used 
his  influence  to  keep  the  different  New  England 
tribes  from  uniting  with  the  Pequods  against  the 
English ;  and  it  is  said  that  this  Indian  chief  and 
Roger  Williams  had  more  to  do  than  any  one  else 
in  saving  the  New  England  settlements  from  de- 
struction by  the  natives. 
9 


130  THE   STORY    OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Massasoit  frequently  did  things  to  show  friendli- 
ness to  the  English.  At  one  time  he  sent  his  two 
sons  to  the  court  at  Plymouth  to  receive  new  names. 

"  My  sons  shall  be  no  more  called  by  the  name 
of  their  fathers,"  he  said.  "  Let  them  receive  new 
names,  that  you  may  know  I  love  you  and  yours, 
and  desire  to  have  you  feol  kindly  to  me  and  mine." 

So  the  two  sons  gave  up  their  Indian  names,  and 
were  called  Alexander  and  Philip.  The  oldest, 
Alexander,  became  king  of  the  Pokanokets  when 
Massasoit  died.  He  always  showed  the  same  kind 
feeling  toward  the  whites  that  his  father  had  done. 

WILL.  —  Then  I  don't  see  how  any  trouble  could 
come. 

MOTHER. — As  the  settlers  in  Connecticut  had 
suffered  such  losses  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  they 
were  always  watchful  and  suspicious  lest  the  tribes 
in  their  neighborhood  should  turn  against  them.  At 
one  time  they  heard  that  Alexander  was  their  en- 
emy, and  that  he  had  asked  the  Narragansetts  to 
join  with  him  in  a  war  against  the  whites. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  believe  that  of  a  son  of  Massa- 
soit. 

MOTHER.  —  Without  waiting  to  see  if  it  were  true 
or  not,  Alexander  was  in  a  haughty  manner  ordered 
to  appear  before  the  Plymouth  court. 

LIZZIE.  —  Had  they  any  right  to  order  him  to  go, 
mother? 


KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  131 

MOTHER.  —  Alexander  thought  not,  and  refused  to 
go.  Upon  this,  Captain  Winslow  with  a  force  of  ten 
men  was  sent  to  arrest  him.  They  surprised  Alex- 
ander and  his  followers,  not  many  miles  from  his 
home  at  Mount  Hope.  Then  they  took  away  the 
arms  of  the  little  Indian  troop,  and  Captain  Wins- 
low,  pointing  a  pistol  at  Alexander,  said,  "  If  you 
stir,  or  if  you  refuse  to  go  back  with  us,  you  are  a 
dead  man ! " 

Alexander  was  at  first  so  astonished  that  he  could 
not  speak.  Had  he  deserved  such  treatment  ?  Was 
this  the  return  for  the  kindness  shown  them  by  his 
father  during  the  last  fifty  years?  It  was  too  much 
to  bear.  A  raging  fever  crept  into  the  veins  of  the 
proud  king.  A  sudden  weakness  seized  him,  and 
in  faltering  accents  he  asked  if  he  might  go  home. 
He  was  allowed  to  go ;  but  he  died  upon  the  way, 

WILL.  —  Well!  if  the  Indians  didn't  rise  and  have 
a  fight  after  that,  then  I'm  mistaken.  I  should  like 
to  know  how  the  Massachusetts  people  would  feel,  if 
their  governor  were  treated  so.  I  tell  you  what !  I 
wouldn't  blame  the  Pokanokets  if  they  had  driven 
every  white  man  out  of  the  country. 

MOTHER.  —  Upon  the  death  of  Alexander,  Philip 
became  king  of  the  Pokanokets.  The  thought  of 
his  brother's  death  was  like  a  thorn  rankling  in  his 
heart.  It  is  true  that  he  appeared  at  the  Plymouth 


132  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

and  Boston  courts,  and  promised  kindness  to  the 
whites.  For  several  years,  it  seemed  that  he  meant 
to  carry  out  the  kindly  intentions  of  his  father.  But 
every  year  the  English  wanted  more  and  more  land ; 
so  that  the  hunting-grounds  were  continually  be- 
coming smaller,  and  they  had  fewer  fishing-streams 
to  depend  on. 

LIZZIE.  —  That  must  have  been  hard  for  the  poor 
Indians,  when  they  had  once  had  the  whole  land  to 
roam  over. 

MOTHER.  —  Philip  foresaw  that  if  nothing  were 
done  to  stop  the  whites,  the  time  would  come  when 
his  people  would  be  driven  from  their  birthplace. 
Should  he  be  a  coward,  and  die  a  slave ;  or  should 
he  rouse  his  people  to  fight  for  the  land  of  their 
fathers?  The  settlers  wanted  them  to  swear  that 
they  would  be  faithful  to  the  king  of  England. 
What  did  they  care  for  a  far-off  king  they  had 
never  seen?  If  the  English  king  let  his  people 
behave  as  the  settlers  had  done,  they  did  not  want  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  him.  Besides,  the  whites 
tried  to  force  a  religion  upon  them  which  they  did  not 
like.  They  enjoyed  their  own  religion  best,  which 
they  felt  was  given  them  by  the  Great  Spirit. 

All  these  grievances  made  Philip  resolve  to  get 
the  tribes  throughout  New  England  to  fight  for  their 
country  and  their  rights. 


KING  PHILIP'S  WAR.  133 

An  affair  soon  occurred  which  hurried  Philip  into 
war  before  he  was  fully  prepared.  An  Indian  by 
the  name  of  Sassamon  had  been  educated  by  the 
settlers,  so  that  he  might  become  a  teacher  among 
his  own  people.  He  had  even  been  through  college. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why !  did  they  have  schools  and  col- 
leges then? 

MOTHER.  —  Certainly.  The  New  England  settlers 
started  common  schools  in  a  very  few  years  after 
they  came  over.  Harvard  College  was  founded  in 
1636;  and  it  was  here  that  Sassamcn  got  his  educa- 
tion. After  this  he  was  private  secretary  to  Philip; 
that  is,  he  did  all  his  writing. 

WILL.  —  Then  he  must  have  known  all  about 
Philip's  affairs. 

MOTHER.  —  Exactly :  and  that  is  how  the  trouble 
commenced.  Sassamon  suddenly  left  him,  went  to 
the  governments  at  Plymouth  and  Boston,  and  told 
them  all  about  Philip's  plans. 

WILL.  —  The  traitor ! 

MOTHER.  —  Soon  after  this,  Sassamon  was  mur- 
dered,—  by  whom,  no  one  knew.  But  three  Indians 
were  arrested  by  the  settlers,  declared  guilty,  and 
put  to  death.  One  of  these  Indians  was  a  particu- 
lar friend  of  Philip's. 

WILL.  —  That  made  him  angry  again. 

MOTHER.  —  He  at  once  ordered  his  tribe  to  send 


134  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

all  their  women  and  children  to  the  Narragansetts 
for  safety.  And  soon  the  cry  of  "  War  !  war  !  "  went 
through  the  New  England  colonies.  This  was  in 
June,  1675. 

Philip  is  said  to  have  wept  when  he  first  heard 
that  English  blood  had  been  shed  by  some  of  his 
tribe. 

LIZZIE.  — I  suppose  that  was  because  his  father's 
treaty  was  broken. 

MOTHER.  —  The  colonists  declared  that  the  war 
against  Philip  was  just. 

WILL.  —  Of  course. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  dear !  war  is  dreadful !  I  wish  they 
had  not  treated  the  Indians  so,  after  Massasoit  died. 

Did  Philip's  people  have  to  suffer  as  much  as  the 
Pequods  did  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  stories  are  somewhat  alike  ;  but  I 
think  King  Philip's  war  was  the  sadder  of  the  two, 
because  the  Pokanokets  had  been  such  good  friends 
to  the  English,  helping  them  in  many  ways. 

WILL.  —  Yes;  and  the  Pequods  always  hated  the 
Connecticut  settlers. 

MOTHER.  —  Remembering  what  the  Connecticut 
people  had  suffered,  the  Massachusetts  colonists 
were  filled  with  horror.  They  at  once  raised  troops 
to  fight  the  Pokanokets.  In  a  week  after  the  war 
commenced,  Philip  was  driven  from  his  home  at 


KING  PHILIP'S  WAR.  135 

Mount  Hope ;  and  he  flew  from  one  tribe  to  another, 
to  engage  them  to  fight  on  his  side.  Soon,  town 
after  town  was  attacked,  the  houses  plundered,  and 
many  of  them  set  on  fire.  There  was  no  rest  for 
the  settlers,  day  or  night.  If  the  farmer  went  out 
to  feed  his  cattle,  there  was  no  certainty  he  would 
ever  come  back.  Even  the  mother  with  her  little 
babes  was  not  safe,  and  she  fled  in  terror  from  one 
town  to  another. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  the  soldiers  might  have 
been  on  the  lookout,  so  as  to  keep  off  the  Indians. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Indians  have  a  different  kind  of 
warfare  from  the  English.  Instead  of  going  in  a 
large  body  in  open  day,  they  would  lurk  behind 
trees,  or  hide  in  muddy  swamps  which  no  white 
man  dared  to  enter.  Then  they  would  steal  out 
and  surprise  the  whites. 

WILL.  —  What  did  the  Narragansetts  do?  Did 
they  join  Philip  ? 

MOTHER.  —  At  first  they  promised  to  join  the 
English.  But  after  Philip  had  been  fighting  several 
months,  driven  about  from  one  place  to  another,  and 
having  lost  a  large  number  of  his  warriors,  he  was 
nearly  destitute.  In  this  condition  he  went  to  the 
Narragansetts  for  safety  and  help.  Canonchet,  their 
present  chief,  received  him  with  open  arms. 

WILL.  — That  didn't  suit  the  English. 


136  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  and  they  determined  to  strike  a 
blow  that  should  ruin  both  chiefs  at  once,  and  put 
an  end  to  the  war.  A  large  body  of  soldiers  was 
raised  in  all  the  colonies,  and  sent  into  the  Nar- 
ragansett  country.  It  was  mid-winter,  and  the 
swamps  being  frozen  and  leafless,  the  Indians  could 
not  escape  the  English  so  readily  as  in  summer. 
Canonohet,  fearful  of  an  attack,  had  sent  the  greater 
part  of  his  stores,  together  with  the  old,  the  sick, 
the  women  and  children  of  his  tribe,  to  a  kind  of 
Island  in  the  middle  of  a  swamp.  Here  Philip  and 
himself  had  gathered  their  warriors,  and  had  care- 
fully built  a  kind  of  fortress,  which  hid  the  wig- 
wams. 

LIZZIE.  — You  said  Philip  had  sent  his  women  and 
children  to  the  Narragansetts ;  so  I  suppose  some 
of  them  were  in  the  fort  too. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  and  the  two  chiefs  thought  they 
had  built  the  fortress  so  strong  that  nothing  could 
happen  to  the  dear  ones  within.  But  the  English, 
guided  by  a  native  who  had  turned  traitor  to  Philip, 
plunged  through  the  snowdrifts  and  took  the  Indians 
by  surprise.  Then  came  a  fierce  and  cruel  fight. 
At  first  the  English  were  driven  back,  and  several 
of  their  bravest  officers  were  killed  ;  but  soon  they 
gained  ground.  The  Indians,  driven  from  one  post 
of  the  fortress  to  another,  fought  with  the  fury  of 


KING  PHILIP'S  WAE.  137 

despair.  Most  of  their  warriors  were  cut  to  pieces  ; 
and  after  a  long  and  bloody  battle,  Philip  and  Ca- 
nonchet  retreated  from  the  fort,  and  fled  to  a  forest 
near  by. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  what  became  of  the  Indian  mothers 
and  little  children  ? 

MOTHER. — The  English  set  fire  to  the  forts  and 
to  all  of  the  wigwams ;  and  most  of  the  old  men, 
women,  and  children  perished  in  the  flames. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  mother!  I  should  think  Philip  and 
Canonchet  would  wish  they  had  died  too. 

MOTHER.  —  When  they  saw  the  flames,  and  heard 
the  cries  of  their  helpless  ones,  they  filled  the  woods 
with  yells  of  rage  and  despair. 

WILL.  —  And  did  the  settlers  believe  all  this  was 
right? 

MOTHER.  —  They  were  sorry  the  wigwams  were 
burned,  for,  being  far  from  home,  they  had  no  roof 
to  shelter  them  from  the  winter  storms. 

LIZZIE.  —  How  could  they  stop  to  think  of  them- 
selves, when  all  the  poor  Indians  were  suffering  so  ! 

MOTHER.  —  It  is  said  that  when  the  colonists  saw 
the  terrible  suffering  they  had  caused,  they  felt 
troubled,  and  some  asked  themselves  if  this  was  the 
way  God  would  have  the  Indians  treated. 

LIZZIE.  —  You  said  most  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren were  killed.  What  became  of  the  rest  ? 


138  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  The}7  hid  themselves  in  a  cedar  swamp, 
with  nothing  but  evergreen  boughs  to  shelter  them 
from  the  cold.  They  pawed  up  the  snow  to  gather 
nuts  and  acorns,  till  they  sank  down  from  weakness 
and  hunger.  Thus  perished  the  tribe  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts. 

LIZZIE.  —  Poor  Indians  ! 

WILL.  —  But  what  became  of  Canonchet? 

MOTHER.  —  He  would  not  give  up,  even  after  his 
terrible  losses.  "  We  will  fight  to  the  last  man,"  he 
said,  "  rather  than  become  slaves  of  the  English  !  " 

Being  pursued  by  the  colonists,  he  was  finally 
taken  prisoner ;  and  when  told  that  lie  was  con- 
demned to  die,  he  said,  "  I  like  it  well !  I  shall  die 
before  my  heart  is  soft,  or  before  I  say  anything 
unworthy  of  myself!" 

WILL.  —  And  what  became  of  Philip? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  discouraged  and  almost  bro- 
ken-hearted by  the  death  of  Canonchet,  for  they 
had  loved  each  other  tenderly.  But  he  was  not 
quite  desolate,  for  his  wife  and  little  son  had  never 
left  him.  After  the  defeat  of  the  Narragansetts,  he 
wanted  to  look  once  more  upon  his  native  land.  So, 
with  his  loved  ones  and  a  few  warriors,  he  visited 
Mount  Hope.  But  0,  how  changed  was  the  home 
of  his  boyhood  !  Only  ruin  and  desolation  every- 
where. 


KING   PHILIP'S   WAE. 


139 


But  even  here  there  was  no  rest  for  him;  for  the 
settlers  did  not  feel  safe  so  long  as  they  knew  that 
the  king  of  the  Pokanokets  was  living.  Early  one 


King  Philip  visiting  his  Ruined  Home. 

morning  he  was  surprised  by 
the  English,  most  of  his  war- 
riors were  slain,  and  his  wife 
and  son  were  made  prisoners. 
The  broken-hearted  chief,  with  a  few  followers,  fled 
to  a  swamp  where  the  muddy  pools  were  hidden 
from  sight  by  low  shrubs. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,   they   wouldn't   hunt   down   a    poor 


140  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Indian  when  he  was  so  badly  off!  Philip  couldn't 
do  any  harm  now. 

MOTHER.  —  As  they  were  cut  off  from  all  the 
necessaries  of  life,  one  of  his  followers  said  to 
Philip,  "  It  is  no  use  to  fight  any  more.  Why  not 
give  up  to  the  English?"  "  Give  up?  Never!" 
said  Philip ;  and  he  shot  the  coward  warrior  dead  at 
his  feet. 

A  brother  of  the  Indian  that  was  killed  was  so 
provoked  at  this,  that  he  ran  over  to  the  English  and 
told  where  Philip  was.  A  party  of  the  settlers  soon 
surrounded  the  swamp.  Philip  fought  till  every 
follower  was  slain;  then,  turning  to  fly,  he  was  shot 
dead. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  his  wife  and  little  boy  ? 

Mo  i  HER.  —  I  don't  know  what  became  of  Philip's 
wife  after  she  was  taken  prisoner ;  but  Philip's  only 
son  —  the  little  prince  who  was  to  have  become 
king  of  the  Pokanokets  —  was  sold  into  slavery. 

WILL.  —  That  was  a  handsome  return  for  what 
Massasoit  did  for  the  settlers.  I  tell  you  what  I 
think :  the  settlers  didn't  really  believe  the  Indians 
were  men  like  themselves.  Anyhow,  they  acted  as 
if  they  thought  white  folks  were  a  great  deal  better 
than  the  red  men.  Now  if  they  had  only  believed 
as  William  Penn  did,  —  that  they  were  men,  and  not 
wild  beasts,  —  they  would  not  have  treated  them  so. 


KING   PHILIP'S   WAE.  141 

LIZZIE.  —  No ;  for  they  would  have  thought  that 
God  wanted  all  his  children  to  be  kind  to  each 
other. 

MOTHEK.  —  The  settlers  suffered  greatly  through 
the  war.  For  fifteen  months  they  had  been  exposed 
to  constant  attacks  from  the  Indians,  during  which 
time  they  lost  six  hundred  men.  Thirteen  towns 
had  been  burned  to  the  ground,  and  eleven  partly 
so.  They  also  got  largely  in  debt  from  the  expenses 
of  the  war. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  the  Pokanokets  and  Narragansetts 
lost  everything. 

WILL.  —  Think  they  did  !  There  were  no  such 
tribes  after  this. 

MOTHER.  —  True;  the  end  of  King  Philip's  war, 
in  1670,  was  the  last  that  was  heard  of  the  Pokauo-^ 
kets  or  Narragansetts. 


142  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XIV. 
KING   GEORGE'S  WAR. 

WILL.  —  Were  there  any  other  such  terrible  times 
between  the  settlers  and  the  Indians  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Nearly  all  the  colonies  suffered  more 
or  less  from  the  cruelties  of  the  native  tribes. 

LIZZIE.  —  Pennsylvania  did  not. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  not  while  William  Penn  lived. 
The  colonies  were  engaged  in  another  war  soon 
after  King  Philip's  death;  but  this  time  the  trouble 
did  not  begin  in  America. 

Whenever  England  went  to  war  against  any  na- 
tion in  Europe,  it  was  felt  in  this  country. 

WILL.  —  That  was  because  there  were  people 
from  those  nations  in  the  colonies  —  wasn't  it  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  At  one  time,  England  had  a  war 
with  Spain.  Can  you  tell  me  which  colonies  would 
feel  it  most  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  I  think  it  must  have  been  the  colonies 
nearest  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  because  the  land  which 
Spain  owned  in  America  was  there. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are   right.     After  this  war  was 


KING  GEORGE'S  WAR.  143 

over,  England  had  several  quarrels  with  France. 
The  one  I  shall  tell  you  about  first  was  in  1744. 

LIZZIE.  —  That  was  a  long  time  after  the  colonies 
were  settled. 

WILL.  —  Not  so  very  long  after  the  settling  of  the 
southern  colonies. 

MOTHER.  —  Do  you  remember  what  France  owned 
in  America? 

LIZZIE.  —  I  do :  Canada. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  the  French  went  over  and 
settled  Canada,  as  the  English  did  Virginia  and  the 
other  colonies. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  and  some  of  the  French  settle- 
ments were  made  before  the  English  ones.  Acadia, 
for  instance,  now  called  Nova  Scotia,  was  settled 
before  Jamestown. 

LIZZIE.  —  They  must  have  had  dreadful  winters, 
going  so  far  north. 

MOTHER.  —  It  is  not  so  cold  as  you  might  suppose 
it  to  be.  It  is  a  very  beautiful  spot.  I  shall '  have 
a  story  to  tell  you  about  Acadia,  so  do  not  forget 
where  it  is. 

You  have  learned  by  this  time  that  people  in 
coming  to  a  new  country  generally  settle  along  the 
rivers. 

WILL.  —  Of  course.  The  land  is  better ;  and  they 
can  easily  sail  up  the  rivers  from  the  ocean. 


144  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  So  you  can  tell  where  the  French 
probably  settled  in  Canada,  if  you  will  examine  your 
maps  a  moment. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  think,  along  the  St.  Lawrence :  that  is 
the  largest  river. 

WILL.  —  And  after  a  while  they  might  follow  up 
the  river  till  they  came  to  the  great  lakes,  and  start 
towns  there. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  so.  They  had  also  formed 
settlements  at  Newfoundland. 

The  English  had  never  disputed  the  right  of  the 
French  to  Canada ;  but  now  that  England  and  France 
were  at  war,  matters  were  very  different. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  the  French  people  in  Canada 
thought  they  must  fight  the  English  in  the  colonies ; 
didn't  they  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Exactly  so.  And  England  encouraged 
her  colonies  to  take  up  arms  against  the  French. 
She  had  little  difficulty  in  doing  this ;  for  the  colo- 
nies still  dearly  loved  their  mother-country ;  and  her 
wrongs  were  their  wrongs. 

LIZZIE.  —  It  seems  hard  that  the  settlers  should 
have  troubles  just  because  the  English  and  French 
kings  had  a  quarrel.  They  had  been  through  such 
dreadful  times  in  making  their  homes  in  the  first 
place,  and  then  in  fighting  the  Indians,  I  should 
think  they  would  have  been  discouraged  at  the 
thought  of  more  fighting. 


KING  GEORGE'S  WAR.  145 

MOTHER.  —  They  were  often  disheartened. 

WILL.  —  How  was  it  with  the  Indians  ?  Did  they 
side  with  the  French  or  English  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Part  of  the  Indians  sided  with  the 
English,  and  part  with  the  French. 

WILL.  —  Then  they  had  Indian  wars  again. 

MOTHER.  —  Which  made  the  times  far  worse  for 
the  colonists. 

At  one  time  a  large  number  of  troops  was  raised 
in  New  England,  to  make  an  attack  on  the  strongest 
fort  of  the  French.  It  was  called  Louisburg,  and 
was  situated  on  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

WILL.  —  I  saw  a  fort  once  :  there  were  cannons 
looking  out  of  every  window. 

MOTHER.  —  There  were  a  great  many  cannons  at 
Louisburg.  Take  your  maps  and  find  it. 

WILL.  —  I  see  it.  I  suppose  when  the  English 
tried  to  sail  past  it,  so  as  to  .get  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence, the  cannons  in  the  fort  would  fire  away  at 
them. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes;  and  as  the  principal  French  set- 
tlements were  on  that  river,  the  English  thought 
they  could  not  do  better  than  to  get  possession  of 
this  great  Gate  of  Canada,  as  it  was  called. 

WILL.  —  I  can  see.     Did  they  get  it? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  but  at  the  end  of  the  war,  when 
10 


146 


THE  STORY  OP  OUR   COUNTRY. 


the  English  and  French  kings  were  deciding  what 
each  should  have,  it  was  agreed  that  the  fortress  of 
Louisburg  should  be  given  back  to  France.  This  was 
very  provoking  to  the  New  Englanders,  after  they 
had  taken  so  much  trouble  and  lost  so  many  men  in 
biking  the  fort  for  their  king,  George  II. 


Capture  of  Louisburg. 

WILL.  —  I  hope  they  let  George  II.  do  his  own 
fighting  after  that. 

MOTHER.  —  This  war,  called  King  George's  war, 
lasted  four  years.  After  this  the  colonists  had  a  few 
years  of  quiet. 


HOW  A   POOR  BOY  BECAME   A  FAMOUS   MAN.      147 


XV. 

HOW  A  POOR  BOY   BECAME  A  FAMOUS   MAN. 

MOTHER.  —  Just  so  surely  as  the  needed  rain  and 
sunshine  come  to  gladden  the  growing  trees  in 
spring-time,  so  surely  did  the  men  appear  who 
seemed  to  have  been  born  and  fitted  to  help  Amer- 
ica in  her  times  of  greatest  danger.  One  of  these  men 
was  Benjamin  Franklin,  born  in  Boston  in  the  year 
1706.  In  his  early  childhood  he  might  have  been 
seen  running  about  the  streets  —  a  little  ragged 
fellow,  as  unconcerned  as  if  making  mud  pies  and 
sailing  toy  boats  by  the  sea-shore  were  all  he  was 
born  for. 

WILL.  —  Didn't  he  go  to  school  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Only  for  a  little  while.  His  father 
was  poor,  and  was  obliged  to  take  him  into  his  shop, 
to  work  at  candle-making,  when  he  was  only  ten 
years  old.  This  business  was  very  distasteful  to 
Benjamin;  but  his  father  kindly  gave  him  some 
time  for  play. 

One  of  his  favorite  amusements  was,  in  company 
with  his  mates,  to  fish  for  minnows  in  a  creek  not 


148  THE  STOBY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

far  from  home ;  and  the  mother  complained  bitterly 
of  the  muddy  boots  and  trousers  that  came  home  at 
night. 

One  day  little  Ben  said,  "  Boys,  this  mud  is  a 
nuisance  ;  and  I  know  how  we  can  get  rid  of  it." 

"How?  how?"  said  the  boys. 

"  Don't  you  see  that  big  pile  of  stones  the  work- 
men have  heaped  up  in  that  next  lot?  Come  to- 
night after  dark,  and  we  will  bring  the  stones  all 
over  here  and  make  us  a  wharf." 

"  Hurrah  !  We'll  do  it !  well  do  it !  "  said  the 
boys. 

So  when  night  came,  the  boys  went  to  work  like 
so  many  little  ants,  tugging  away,  sometimes  two  at 
one  stone.  The  wharf  was  finished. 

The  next  morning,  when  the  workmen  came  to 
commence  their  cellar,  they  were  surprised  and  very 
angry  at  what  had  been  done.  They  found  out  the 
names  of  the  boys,  and  went  and  complained  to 
their  parents. 

LIZZIE.  —  Franklin  was  most  to  blame. 

MOTHER.  —  At  first  he  could  not  see  that  he  was 
to  blame  at  all.  "  The  wharf  is  very  useful,"  he 
said. 

LIZZIE.  —  Yes ;  but  he  stole  the  stones  to  make 
it  of. 

MOTHER.  —  After  a  while,  Franklin's  father  con- 


HOW   A   POOE   BOY   BECAME   A   FAMOUS   MAN.      149 

vinced  him  that  "  that  which  is  not  honest  cannot  be 
truly  useful" 

WILL.  —  If  Franklin  was  to  become  very  useful 
to  his  country,  I  don't  believe  he  staid  very  long  in 
his  father's  shop  making  candles. 

MOTHER.  —  When  he  was  twelve  years  old,  his 
brother  James  opened  a  printing  office  ;  and  the  fa- 
ther gladly  apprenticed  Benjamin  to  his  brother, 
for  he  knew  Benjamin  would  like  this  business 
better. 

LIZZIE.  —  Yes ;  for  he  would  have  a  chance  to  see 
a  good  many  books. 

MOTHER.  —  When  Franklin  was  fifteen  years  old, 
his  brother  James  began  publishing  a  newspaper. 
After  a  while,  Benjamin  wrote  several  articles  for 
the  paper  himself. 

"  Now,  if  I  let  James  know  who  wrote  them/'  he 
said,  "  he  will  not  think  them  worth  noticing.  I 
will  disguise  my  handwriting,  and  put  them  under 
the  door  after  dark." 

When  James  found  the  pieces,  he  showed  them 
to  his  friends ;  and  Franklin  heard  them  all  wonder 
who  could  be  their  author.  And  when  they  decided 
it  must  be  such  a  one,  naming  a  man  of  great  learn- 
ing, he  was  very  much  encouraged.  He  went  on 
writing  for  the  paper,  and  did  not  tell  his  secret  for 
a  long  time.  But  when  he  did,  James  was  more 
envious  than  glad. 


150  THE  STORY   OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 

After  a  while,  some  of  Benjamin's  writings  got 
his  brother  into  trouble.  Even  at  that  age  Franklin 
was  much  interested  in  the  public  meetings  ;  and 
if  anything  happened  which  he  thought  unjust  to 
the  public,  he  at  once  spoke  of  it  in  the  paper. 
Some  of  his  pieces  were  aimed  at  what  he  thought 
was  wrong  in  the  government  officers.  And  finally 
the  colonial  assembly  felt  themselves  so  much  in- 
sulted, that  James  was  arrested  and  sent  to  prison 
for  a  month;  and  he  could  not  publish  the  paper 
after  this. 

The  paper  was  continued  for  a  while  in  Benja- 
min's name ;  but  the  whole  affair  caused  James  to 
treat  his  brother  with  uukindness,  and  even  cruelty, 
so  much  so  that  Benjamin  ran  away  to  New  York. 
Not  finding  employment  there,  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia. Imagine  how  funny  he  must  have  looked 
when  he  arrived  there.  Here  is  his  own  account :  — 

"  I  was  in  my  working- dress,  my  best  clothes 
being  to  come  by  sea.  I  was  covered  with  dirt; 
my  pockets  were  filled  with  shirts  and  stockings. 
Fatigued  with  walking,  rowing,  and  having  passed 
the  night  without  sleep,  I  was  extremely  hungry, 
and  all  my  money  consisted  of  a  Dutch  dollar  and 
about  a  shilling's  worth  of  coppers,  which  I  gave 
the  boatmen  for  my  passage." 

He  went  into  a  baker's  shop  and  asked  for  a  three- 


HOW  A  POOR  BOY   BECAME  A  FAMOUS   MAN.     151 

peony  loaf.  "  The  baker  gave  me,"  says  Franklin, 
"  three  large  rolls.  I  was  surprised  at  receiving  so 
much.  I  took  them,  however,  and  having  no  room  in 
my  pockets,  I  walked  on  with  a  roll  under  each  arm, 
eating  the  third.  In  this  manner  I  went  through 


Franklin's  first  Appearance  in  Philadelphia. 

Market  Street  to  Fourth  Street,  and  passed  the 
house  of  Mr.  Read,  the  father  of  my  future  wife. 
She  was  standing  at  the  door,  observed  me,  and 
thought  with  reason  that  I  made  a  very  singular 
and  grotesque  appearance." 


152  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  Poor  fellow ! 

WILL.  —  Such  a  boy  as  that  wasn't  long  without 
work,  I  know. 

MOTHER.  —  He  soon  found  employment  in  a  print- 
ing-office, and  happened  to  board  with  the  father  of 
the  young  lady  who  had  laughed  at  his  awkward 
looks. 

Franklin  first  came  into  public  notice  when  he 
was  about  twenty-one.  The  colony  of  New  Jersey 
was  about  to  issue  paper  money ;  and  the  printing 
of  the  bills  came  to  Franklin's  employer.  Tlie  work 
had  to  be  done  in  New  Jersey,  so  that  it  might  be 
carefully  overlooked  by  the  government  officers. 
They  soon  found  out  that  it  was  Franklin  who  in- 
vented ornamental  designs  for  the  bills,  and  who 
contrived  the  copper-plate  press.  "  Look  here  !  " 
said  they ;  "  this  young  fellow  knows  more  about 
printing  than  his  master  !  He  is  more  kind  and 
obliging  too.  He  will  get  the  business  all  into  his 
own  hands  before  long." 

And  this  proved  true.  He  was  soon  in  business 
for  himself,  and  became  printer  for  the  Pennsylvania 
colony,  at  the  same  time  publishing  a  newspaper  in 
which  he  freely  gave  his  opinions  about  public  mat- 
ters. The  paper  was  so  much  more  attractive  than 
any  that  had  before  appeared  in  the  colonies,  that  it 
soon  had  a  long  list  of  subscribers. 


.HOW  A  POOR  BOY  BECAME  A  FAMOUS  MAN.   153 

WILL.  —  How  Franklin  did  succeed  in  every- 
thing ! 

LIZZIE.  —  I  suppose  that  was  because  he  did 
everything  so  well. 

MOTHER.  —  Most  likely  every  one  would  succeed 
if  he  were  as  upright,  industrious,  prudent,  and 
saving  as  Franklin  was. 

As  he  got  older  and  saw  that  many  failed  in  their 
undertakings  while  he  succeeded,  he  was  anxious 
that  others  should  try  his  plan.  To  let  people  know 
the  secret  of  his  success,  he  published  an  almanac 
called  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanac."  Every  number 
contained  wise  sayings  which  people  could  easily 
remember,  and  which  would  lead  them  to  be  pru- 
dent and  kind.  He  published  the  almanac  annually 
for  twenty-five  years ;  and  at  the  end  of  that  time' 
ho  collected  all  the  proverbs  into  one  book,  which 
he  called  "  The  Way  to  Wealth."  The  wise  sayings 
in  this  book  were  so  much  thought  of,  that  they 
were  copied  into  the  newspapers  of  all  the  colonies, 
and  were  afterwards  reprinted  in  England  and 
France. 

By  the  time  Franklin  was  thirty  he  had  got  his 
business  into  such  a  prosperous  condition  that  he 
could  afford  to  give  a  large  share  of  his  time  to  the 
public  good.  First,  he  thought  of  his  own  city. 
To  wake  people  up  to  improve  their  minds,  he 


154  THE   STORY   OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 

started  a  club.  This  club  lasted  for  forty  years,  and 
then  became  the  u  American  Philosophical  Society," 
of  which  Franklin  was  first  president.  Franklin 
also  influenced  the  people  of  Philadelphia  to  have 
the  city  paved  and  lighted ;  to  have  an  orderly  fire 
department ;  to  have  a  public  library ;  and  to  start 
good  schools  and  colleges.  So  much  can  one  man 
do,  if  he  has  the  will. 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  he  would  have  been  a 
good  man  for  governor,  or  something  like  that. 

MOTHER.  —  He  did  hold  many  different  offices  in 
the  course  of  his  life,  as  you  will  see.  The  first 
was  that  of  clerk  to  the  Colonial  Assembly.  After- 
wards he  became  postmaster.  Whenever  any  pub- 
lic improvement  was  thought  of,  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  be  consulted.  "  If  we  can  get  Franklin  to 
push  it,  it  will  go,"  people  said. 

LIZZIE.  —  But  I  suppose  he  wouldn't  help  unless 
he  thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  people. 

MOTHER.  —  No,  indeed  !  And  that  was  why  every 
one  had  so  much  confidence  in  him.  They  knew  he 
had  common  sense.  One  of  his  mottoes  was,  "  A 
man's  truest  good  can  be  found  in  doing  all  the 
good  he  can  to  others." 

With  all  the  public  and  private  business  he  had 
on  his  hands,  he  still  found  time  for  self-improve- 
ment. He  learned  the  French,  Spanish,  aod  Italian 
languages,  and  afterwards  the  Latin. 


HOW   A    POOR   BOY   BECAME   A   FAMOUS   MAN.      155 

After  he  had  started  many  improvements  in  Phila- 
delphia, he  thought  of  the  colony  at  large.  As 
many  members  of  the  government  were  Quakers, 
nothing  had  been  done  to  train  soldiers;  while 
Pennsylvania  was  liable  to  be  attacked  by  foreign 
invaders  as  well  as  by  Indians. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  thought  you  said  William  Penn  made 
all  the  Indians  about  there  behave  well. 

MOTHER.  —  So  he  did;  but  that  was  seventy  years 
before ;  and  many  people  had  come  to  Pennsylvania 
who  did  not  understand  dealing  with  the  natives. 
And  through  the  influence  of  the  French,  the  tribes 
on  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania  began  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  whites. 

WILL.  —  Did  Franklin  raise  the  soldiers? 

MOTHER. —  He  went  to  work  with  his  usual  spirit, 
to  show  people  the  need.  Then  he  roused  them  to 
enlist.  It  was  not  long  before  a  large  body  of 
soldiers  were  ready  in  case  of  attack ;  and  a  fort 
was  built  on  the  river  below  the  city. 

WILL.  —  What  did  the  Quakers  say  to  that? 

MOTHER.  —  Though  he  did  not  get  much  help 
from  them,  he  found  they  were  very  willing  that 
other  people  should  defend  the  colony.  His  energy 
and  common  sense  in  this  affair  called  forth  the 
praise  and  thanks  of  the  governor  and  council ;  and 
after  this  they  consulted  him  whenever  any  impor- 
tant matter  camo  np  that  concerned  the  colony. 


156  THE  STORY  OP  OUR  COUNTRY. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Franklin  made  his 
great  discoveries  in  electricity. 

WILL.  —  I  remember  a  story  about  that.  Franklin 
had  thought  for  a  good  while  that  lightning  was  the 
same  as  electricity ;  and  one  day  he  sent  up  a  kite, 
pointed  with  wire,  into  a  thunder-cloud,  —  and  down 
came  the  lightning  right  into  the  ground. 

MOTHER.  —  That  was  the  way  he  came  to  invent 
lightning-rods,  which  have  saved  so  many  houses 
from  destruction.  This  and  other  discoveries  made 
him  famous  all  over  the  world ;  and  many  colleges 
of  Europe  gave  him  learned  titles  on  account  of  it. 

LIZZIE. — And  only  think!  he  never  went  to 
school  after  .he  was  ten  years  old. 

MOTHER. —  The  next  public  service  of  Franklin 
was  a  benefit  to  the  whole  country.  The  post-offices 
had  been  a  great  expense  to  the  government;  and 
yet  they  were  so  poorly  arranged  that  news  trav- 
elled very  slowly.  Franklin  was  made  postmaster- 
general  of  all  the  colonies ;  and  in  a  few  years,  not 
only  were  all  the  expenses  met,  but  there  was  a 
good  sum  over. 

After  this  time  the  life  of  Franklin  becomes 
closely  united  to  the  STORY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY;  so  I 
shall  have  to  leave  him  for  the  present,  and  tell  you 
something  about  the  troublesome  times  that  were 
coming  to  the  colonies. 


WHAT  HAPPENED   TO   AN   ENGLISH   GENERAL.      15? 


XVI. 

WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  AN  ENGLISH  GENERAL. 

MOTHER.  —  We  must  keep  in  mind  that  the  French 
owned  Canada. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  the  English  owned  what  is  now 
the  United  States. 

MOTHER.  —  At  first  England  claimed  the  land 
quite  across  the  country,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  But  as  the  settlements  were  all  along  the 
coast,  —  not  extending  into  the  interior,  —  the 
French  began  to  say  to  themselves,  ''  The  English 
really  own  only  what  they  have  settled ;  we  will 
explore  the  western  country  for  ourselves."  And 
some  of  their  adventurers  discovering  the  Missis- 
sippi, sailed  down  that  great  river  till  they  reached 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  After  this  France  claimed  all 
the  country  watered  by  the  Mississippi  or  its 
branches. 

WILL.  —  Wait  a  minute,  please,  and  let  me  find 
it  on  the  map. 

MOTHER.  —  You  will  see  what  a  large  tract  of 
country  the  French  now  claimed. 

WILL.  —  Why,  yes ;  there  is  the  Ohio  River,  which 


158  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

flows  into  the  Mississippi.  Did  they  claim  the 
country  around  that? 

MOTHER.  —  They  did. 

WILL.  —  See  here  !  If  the  French  claimed  all  the 
land  watered  by  this  great  river  and  its  branches, 
the  English  could  have  only  the  land  east  of  the 
Alleghanies. 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  so.  And  one  of  the  governors 
sent  word  home  that  if  the  French  were  allowed  to 
go  on,  "  the  kings  of  England  would  not  have  a 
hundred  miles  away  from  the  sea  anywhere."  Eng- 
land did  not  take  much  notice  of  this  at  first;  and 
the  French  went  on  planning  and  working,  till  they 
had  built  a  chain  of  forts,  sixty  in  number,  reaching 
from  Quebec  to  New  Orleans.  This  was  to  show 
that  all  the  interior  of  the  country  belonged  to 
them. 

WILL.  —  I  should  have  thought  the  English  king 
had  better  wake  up  and  do  something,  if  he  cared 
anything  about  his  colonies.  Just  think !  He  had 
given  up  the  great  fort  of  Louisburg ;  so,  of  course, 
the  French  could  keep  the  English  from  going  up 
the  St.  Lawrence ;  and  if  they  had  forts  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  English  couldn't  go  up  that  river 
either. 

MOTHER.  —  True.  And  the  French  said,  "  If  we 
can  keep  these  two  great  rivers  to  ourselves,  we 


WHAT   HAPPENED   TO   AN   ENGLISH   GENERAL.     159 

shall  get  most  of  the  American  trade  into  our  own 
hands.  The  people  of  the  West  Indies  will  be  very 
glad  to  send  their  goods  up  the  Mississippi ;  and  we 
can  open  trade,  too,  with  all  the  Indians  west  of  the 
Alleghanies." 

WILL.  —  But  what  were  the  colonies  doing  all 
this  time  ?  Why  didn't  they  try  to  get  some  of  the 
trade  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  leading  men  in  all  the  colonies 
began  to  be  very  anxious ;  and  they  were  glad  when 
the  English  government  advised  the  colonies  to  get 
the  Indians  to  join  them  against  the  French.  So 
the  colonies  each  sent  a  man  to  Albany  to  make  a 
treaty  for  this  purpose  with  a  large  body  of  Indians 
in  and  around  New  York,  called  the  "  Six  Nations." 
The  treaty  was  made,  and  the  Six  Nations  promised 
to  help  the  colonists. 

It  was  hoped,  too,  that  the  assembly  at  Albany 
would  find  out  the  best  ways  for  the  colonies  to  de- 
fend themselves  in  the  coming  danger. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  I  know  what  man  Pennsylvania 
sent,  —  Franklin. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  arid  no  man  did  so  much  good 
there  as  he.  His  advice  to  the  Assembly  was  some- 
thing like  this :  — 

"  There  is  very  little  use  in  each  colony's  tr}Ting 
by  itself  to  fight  the  enemy.  The  thirteen  colonies 


160  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

ought  to  work  together.  They  ought  to  be  united, 
as  brothers  and  sisters.  If  the  French,  in  attacking 
one  settlement,  feel  that  all  the  rest  will  rush  to  the 
rescue,  they  will  not  be  so  bold  in  their  insults." 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  Franklin  want  all  the  settlements  to 
become  one  colony  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Not  at  all.  He  wanted  each  colony  to 
take  care  of  its  own  aifairs ;  but  also  to  help  all  the 
rest  in  case  of  need.- 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  that  was  a  good  plan. 
Didn't  the  men  at  Albany  think  so? 

MOTHER.  —  They  were  much  pleased  with  this  idea 
of  Franklin's ;  but  neither  the  colonies  nor  the  king 
liked  it.  The  colonies  were  afraid  it  would  give  too 
much  power  to  the  king ;  and  the  king  was  afraid  it 
would  give  too  much  power  to  the  people.  So,  al- 
though the  colonies  agreed  to  help  each  other  in 
case  of  war,  they  took  no  more  of  Franklin's  advice 
at  that  time. 

A  few  years  before,  a  number  of  men  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  by  the  aid  of  a  wealthy  London 
merchant,  had  obtained  a  very  large  grant  of  land 
from  King  George  II.  This  land  was  in  the  Ohio 
valley ;  and  the  men  called  themselves  the  Ohio 
Company.  Their  plan  was  to  form  settlements  at 
once,  and  open  a  fur  trade  with  the  Indians. 

WILL.  —  If  George  II.  and  the  French  king  both 


WHAT   HAPPENED   TO   AN  ENGLISH   GENERAL.      161 

said  their  people  might  settle  there,  then  there 
would  be  another  fight  between  the  French  and 
English,  I  know. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  And  it  commenced  in  this  way : 
The  Ohio  Company  went  out  to  survey  the  land 
around  the  Ohio  River.  But  the  French  officers 
who  were  there  told  them  that  the  land  belonged  to 
France,  and  no  Englishman  had  a  right  there.  Upon 
this,  the  governor  of  Virginia  sent  George  Wash- 
ington, then  a  young  man  of  twenty-one,  to  say  to 
the  French  commander  that  George  II.  had  given 
the  Ohio  Company  the  right  to  settle  the  land.  But 
the  messenger  was  received  with  contempt;  the 
English  surveyors  were  driven  away ;  and  the  horrors 
of  another  war  seemed  hanging  over  the  colonies. 

In  1755,  England  sent  over  General  Braddock 
with  two  regiments, — 

WILL.  —  Then  they  really  began  to  have  war. 

MOTHER.  —  Not  just  yet.  As  the  troubles  were 
mostly  confined  to  the  Ohio  valley,  it  was  thought 
that  two  thousand  English  soldiers  could  easily  rout 
the  French,  so  that  the  Ohio  Company  could  go  on 
with  their  work. 

General  Braddock  marched  to  Frederictown,  Ma- 
ryland, where  he  waited  to  collect  teams  for  carry- 
ing provisions  and  other  necessaries. 

Take  your  maps,  and  find  Frederictown ;  and  also 
11 


162  THE  STORY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 

find  Pittsburgh,  which  is  the  place  General  Braddock 
aimed  at.  There  was  a  large  fort  there ;  and  the 
place  was  then  called  Fort  Du  Quesne.  You  notice 
that  it  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio  valley. 

WILL.  —  Yes  ;  two  rivers  meet  there  —  the  Alle- 
ghany  and  Monongahela. 

MOTHER.  —  They  unite  to  form  the  Ohio. 

WILL.  —  Of  course  the  French  would  think  a 
great  deal  of  that  place. 

MOTHER. — While  General  Braddock  was  waiting 
at  Frederictown,  Franklin  was  sent  to  him  to  say 
that  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  was  ready  to  help 
him  in  case  of  need.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  leave, 
Braddock's  agent  came  back,  saying  he  could  get 
only  twenty-five  wagons,  and  some  of  them  were 
poor. 

"  Twenty-five  wagons  !  "  exclaimed  Braddock ; 
"  we  need  a  hundred  and  fifty  at  least.  What  miser- 
able business  it  was  to  send  us  over  to  this  country, 
that  is  too  poor  to  furnish  us  a  few  wagons !  " 

"  You  should  have  sent  to  Pennsylvania,"  said 
Franklin,  quietly  ;  "  nearly  every  farmer  there  keeps 
a  wagon." 

''  Look  here  !  "  said  Braddock ;  "  you  are  known 
all  through  the  colony :  why  can't  you  get  us  the 
wagons  ? " 

"  Very  well,"  said  Franklin ;  "  put  in  writing  what 


WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  AN  ENGLISH  GENERAL.  163 

you  ne6d,  and  wh.it  you  are  willing  to  pay,  and  I 
will  try  to  serve  you." 

WILL.  —  General  Braddock  got  his  wagons,  I 
know. 

MOTHER.  —  In  a  few  days  one  hundred  and  fifty 
wagons  and  twenty-one  hundred  horses  arrived  at  the 
English  camp.  Besides  these,  came  a  lot  of  supplies 
—  a  present  from  the  Pennsylvania  government.  All 
this  was  through  Franklin's  influence.  Afterwards 
a  number  of  soldiers  from  the  colonies  joined  Brad- 
dock,  George  Washington  being  one  of  the  aids. 

LIZZIE.  —  With  so  much  help  General  Braddock 
ought  to  succeed. 

MOTHER.  —  One  would  think  so.  But  the  English 
general  had  too  much  confidence. in  himself.  Talk- 
ing of  his  plans  to  Franklin  one  day,  he  said,  — 

"  The  taking  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  will  cost  us  only 
three  or  four  days ;  and  then  I  shall  march  to  Niag- 
ara, and  after  taking  that,  I  shall  go  to  Frontenac." 

To  this  Franklin  modestly  replied,  "  To  be  sure, 
sir,  if  you  arrive  at  Fort  Du  Quesne  with  all  these 
fine  troops  1  In  my  mind,  your  chief  danger  will  be 
from  the  Indians,  who  never  fight  openly.  If  large 
numbers  of  them  hide  behind  the  trees,  I  am  afraid 
they  will  surprise  your  long  line  of  soldiers,  and  cut 
it  into  pieces  like  a  thread." 

Braddock  smiled  confidently,  and   said,  "  These 


164  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

savages  may  indeed  be  terrible  to  your  American 
militia;  but  to  the  king's  finely  trained  soldiers  it  is 
impossible  they  should  do  any  harm." 

WILL.  —  That's  a  good  joke  !  General  Braddock 
didn't  know  what  he  was  talking  about. 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  soldiers  were  soon  on 
their  march;  but  before  they  even  saw  the  enemy, 
they  were  fired  upon  from  the  forests.  Seven  hun- 
dred English  soldiers  soon  lay  dead  on  the  field ; 
and  the  commander  himself,  after  having  five  horses 
shot  under  him,  was  finally  carried  off  with  a  deadly 
bullet  in  his  side. 

The  English  troops  were  so  surprised  by  the  yells 
and  fighting  of  the  Indians,  that  it  seemed  for  a  time 
as  if  the  whole  army  would  be  left  dead  on  the  field. 
But  young  Colonel  Washington  came  to  the  rescue. 
An  Indian  chief  singled  him  out  to  kill  him,  an  1 
told  his  warriors  to  do  the  same.  Two  horses  were 
shot  under  him ;  his  coat  was  pierced  with  four  bul- 
lets, but  he  was  unharmed.  He  showed  such  bravery 
that  an  English  officer  afterwards  said  of  him,  "  he 
acted  as  if  he  really  loved  the  whistling  bullets." 

Young  Washington  rallied  the  raw  militia,  and 
thus  the  army  was  saved  from  destruction. 

WILL.  —  Were  the  French  fighting?  and  did  they 
lose  many  men? 

MOTHER.  —  Of  the  four  or  five  hundred  French 


WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  AN  ENGLISH  GENERAL.  165 

and   Indians   together,  only  thirty  men  and  three 
officers  were  killed,  and  thirty  wounded. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  General  Braddock  had  five  horses 
shot  under  him,  he  must  have  been  a  brave  man. 
Did  he  die? 


MOTHER.  —  He  was 
silent  all  day,  after 
being  carried  from 
the  battle-field ;  and 
at  night  he  said, 
"  Who  would  have 
thought  it?"  The 
next  day  he  said,  "  We  shall  know  better  how  to 
deal  with  them  another  time  ! "  —  and  died. 


Braddock's  Defeat. 


166  THE  STORY  OF   ODE  COUNTRY. 

Upon  his  death,  the  command  of  the  army  came 
to  Colonel  Dunbar,  who  had  been  left  a  few  miles 
back  with  the  provisions  and  a  large  body  of  sol- 
diers in  reserve.  When  the  runaways  from  the 
battle  reached  the  camp,  they  so  terrified  Colonel 
Dunbar  and  his  men,  that  the  whole  body  of  soldiers 
—  over  one  thousand  —  instead  of  going  on  to  meet 
the  enemy,  destroyed  all  the  provisions,  that  they 
might  have  the  horses  for  their  own  use ;  then, 
mounting,  with  Colonel  Dunbar  at  their  head,  they 
galloped  from  the  noise  of  battle,  and  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  stop  till  they  were  safe  in  Philadelphia. 

WILL.  —  Brave  English  troops  !  Raw  American 
militia ! 

MOTHER.  —  Franklin  afterwards  said  that  it  taught 
the  colonists  a  good  lesson,  which  was,  that  they 
must  not  think  too  highly  of  the  bravery  of  English 
troops. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  should  say  so  1 


DRIVEN   INTO    EXILE.  167 


XVII. 

DRIVEN   INTO    EXILE. 

MOTHER.  —  During  the  year  1755,  the  English 
made  another  attack  on  the  French,  which  I  am 
sorry  to  say  was  a  success. 

WILL.  —  Why  do  you  say  you  are  sorry,  when  we 
don't  want  the  French  to  have  America? 

MOTHER.  —  Hear  the  story,  and  then  see.  Do  you 
remember  what  Nova  Scotia  used  to  be  called  ? 

WILL.  — -  Acadia ;  and  it  was  settled  by  the  French 
before  John  Smith  came  over. 

MOTHER.  —  At  the  time  of  Braddock's  defeat  it 
had  about  sixteen  thousand  inhabitants.  The  Aca- 
dians  were  a  simple,  hard-working  people.  The 
pastures  were  filled  with  their  flocks.  The  fertile 
lands  around  the  many  rivers  were  covered  with 
rich  grass  and  waving  wheat.  The  houses  clustered 
together,  and  were  comfortably  furnished.  Proba- 
bly there  was  not  at  that  time  a  happier  settlement 
in  America.  The  English  were  jealous  of  it.  They 
wanted  the  fertile  fields  and  the  rivers  abounding 
in  fish.  They  wanted  control  of  the  fishing-trade 


168  THE   STOEY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

on  the  coasts.  So  the  British  government  advised 
the  colonies  to  make  an  attack  on  Acadia. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  the  Acadians  ever  trouble  the  Eng- 
lish, as  those  French  people  near  the  Ohio  did  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Never.  The}7  had  even  promised  not 
to  join  with  the  French  in  war;  but  they  had  also 
said  they  would  not  fight  against  France.  It  was 
not  easy  to  go  to  war  against  a  people  that  would 
not  fight ;  but  the  Acadians  must  be  expelled  from 
the  country. 

The  English  hit  upon  a  plan.  A  proclamation  was 
made,  commanding  old  men,  young  men,  and  boys 
of  ten  years  to  meet  together.  Suspecting  nothing, 
they  obeyed,  not  bringing  their  weapons  even. 
What  was  their  horror  to  hear  this :  — 

"  Henceforth  your  lands,  your  houses,  and  your 
cattle  belong  to  the  king  of  England.  You  with 
your  wives  and  children  must  all  leave  the 
country ! " 

In  a  few  days  the  whole  people  were  driven  to  the 
sea-shore.  A  part  were  hurried  on  board  the  few 
ships  waiting  for  them,  arid  set  sail,  never  again  to 
see  their  long-loved  homes.  Those  who  waited  for 
the  return  of  the  ships  wandered  up  and  down  the 
shore,  or  fled  to  the  forests,  hungry  and  half  clothed. 
Children  lost  their  parents,  wives  their  husbands, 
brothers  their  sisters. 


DRIVEN   INTO   EXILE. 


169 


LIZZIE.  —  But  where  did   the    people  who  were 
driven  on  board  the  ships  go  to? 


Acadians  moving  their  Household  Goods  to  the  Sea-shore. 

MOTHER.  —  They  were  scattered  along  the  shoie 
from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia. 


170  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  If  I  had  been  put  ashore,  I  would  have 
found  ray  way  back  home  again. 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  thought,  of  that.  And 
while  the  innocent  people  who  were  left  behind 
were  wandering  up  and  down  the  sea-shore,  now 
watching  for  the  return  of  the  ships  that  had  car- 
ried away  their  dear  ones,  and  now  casting  loving 
glances  toward  their  hard-earned  homes,  they  saw 
flames  burst  forth  from  the  deserted  villages.  What 
could  it  mean?  Had  some  careless  villager  forgot- 
ten his  cottage  hearth? 

Soon  the  cruel  truth  dawned  upon  the  sorrowing 
ones.  The  English,  fearing  that  the  exiles  might 
seek  their  homes  again,  after  the  soldiers  had  left 
the  neighborhood,  had  set  fire  to  every  homestead 
in  Acadia.  The  cattle  and  fields  of  wheat  they  had 
kept  for  themselves. 

LIZZIE.  —  O,  mother !  you  never  told  us  anything 
so  cruel  and  so  sad. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  what  excuse  the  English 
could  have  had  for  such  meanness. 

MOTHER. — The  only  possible  excuse  was  that,  in 
1713,  in  settling  some  troubles  with  France,  this 
little  province  of  Acadia  was  made  over  to  the 
English.  But  the  people  had  been  allowed  to  re- 
main undisturbed,  and  to  have  officers  of  their  own 
choosing. 


DRIVEN  INTO   EXILE.  171 

WILL.  —  But  all  that  didn't  make  it  right  to  drive 
the  poor  Acadiaris  from  their  homes. 

MOTHER.  —  It  seems  as  if  people's  eyes  were 
blinded  in  times  of  war,  so  that  they  cannot  tell 
right  from  wrong.  -There  might  have  been  many 
who  felt  sorry  for  the  poor  exiles ;  but  the  English 
government  rejoiced  that  it  had  possession  of  the 
country  bordering  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 


172  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XVIII. 
THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN   WAR. 

MOTHER.  —  As  I  have  already  told  you,  there  had 
been  fighting  between  the  French  and  English  in 
America  for  over  a  year.  But  England  did  not 
really  declare  war  against  France  till  1756. 

The  plans  for  this  war  were  made  in  England,  and 
the  different  colonies  had  to  give  their  help.  It 
was  called  the  French  and  Indian  war.  During 
two  years,  the  English  mot  with  shameful  losses ; 
and  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  the  French  would 
have  everything  their  own  way.  But  a  new  man 
came  into  power  in  England,  named  William  Pitt. 
His  influence  in  directing  affairs  in  America  was 
like  a  mighty  river  that  carries  everything  before 
it.  But  rivers  become  great  through  the  other 
rivers  which  flow  into  them ;  and  so  it  was  with  re- 
gard to  William  Pitt.  He  learned  from  Benjamin 
Franklin  what  were  America's  greatest  needs. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  !  was  Franklin  in  England  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes;  he  had  been  sent  there  by  the 
Pennsylvania  government,  to  lay  before  the  king 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN    WAR.  173 

certain  petitions  for  the  welfare  of  the  colony.  To 
be  sure,  Franklin  did  not  see  Pitt ;  but  he  frequently 
saw  his  two  secretaries,  who  reported  to  Pitt  all  he 
said. 

Franklin  showed  the  great  need  of  colonizing  the 
West,  especially  the  country  near  the  Ohio.  He  also 
showed  that  there  never  could  be  a  lasting  peace 
till  Canada  belonged  to  England.  And  he  even 
planned  certain  attacks,  which  were  afterwards  suc- 
cessfully made. 

WILL.  —  What  a  great  man  Franklin  was  !  The 
last  time  you  spoke  of  him,  he  was  doing  something 
to  help  all  the  colonies.  Now  he  is  planning  to  help 
England  herself. 

MOTHER.  —  Of  course  the  English  were  anxious  to 
get  possession  of  the  forts,  especially  the  most  im- 
portant ones. 

WILL.  —  Then  I  should  think  they  would  have 
tried  to  get  Louisburg  again. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  ;  and  in  the  following  year 
it  fell  into  their  hands. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  didn't  the  English  get  the  fort  that 
Braddock  tried  for  ? 

WILL. —  You  mean  Fort  I)u  Quesne. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  during  this  same  year  the  French 
lost  that  stronghold.  The  taking  of  this  fort  was  a 
great  event  in  the  history  of  the  colonies,  for  a 


174  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

highway  was  then  opened  to  the  great  West,  which 
was  never  afterwards  closed.  Washington  became 
famous  through  his  important  services  at  that  time. 
The  name  of  the  fort  was  changed  to  Pittsburgh,  in 
honor  of  William  Pitt,  who  planned  the  expedition. 

From  this  time  the  English  were  everywhere  suc- 
cessful. Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  the  two 
large  forts  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  English  ;  and  after  these,  Niagara. 

WILL.  —  I  have  found  all  those  places  on  the  map, 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  if  the  French  had  lost  Louis- 
burg,  Nova  Scotia,  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  Ni- 
agara, and  Fort  Du  Quesne,  they  couldn't  expect  to 
hold  out  much  longer.  They  couldn't  stop  the  Eng- 
lish from  going  almost  anywhere  they  pleased  after 
that. 

MOTHER.  —  The  only  very  important  fort  left  to 
the  French  was  at  Quebec. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see  where  Quebec  is.  It  is  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  River. 

MOTHER.  —  And  is  the  most  important  city  on  the 
river.  There  was  a  very  large  fort  there,  com- 
manded by  General  Montcalm. 

LIZZIE.  —  He  was  the  French  general  then  — 
wasn't  he? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes  ;  and  he  had  taken  such  great 
pains  to  guard  the  city  carefully  at  ever}'  point,  that 


THE  FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR.  175 

he  thought  the  English  could  not  possibly  get  pos- 
session of  it. 

General  Wolfe,  a  brave  young  officer,  had  been 
chosen  to  make  the  attack  on  Quebec.  At  first  the 
task  seemed  a  discouraging  one.  The  fort  itself  is 
on  a  high  point  of  land  overlooking  the  city ;  and 
Wolfe's  troops  were  on  the  river-side  below.  In- 
dian spies  were  watching  them  from  every  point ; 
and  their  every  movement  was  quickly  made  known 
to  the  French  commander.  After  several  useless 
attempts  to  take  it,  Wolfe  moved  his  army  to  a  place 
several  miles  above  the  city.  One  day,  as  he  was 
riding  about  to  examine  the  country,  he  noticed  just 
above  Quebec  some  high  cliffs  rising  abruptly  from 
the  river,  and  at  the  top  of  the  cliffs  a  level  spot, 
which  he  afterwards  learned  was  called  the  Plains 
of  Abraham.  General  Montcalm  had  not  guarded 
this  place,  for  he  thought  it  impossible  for  any  one 
to  scale  the  steep  cliffs.  But  Wolfe's  quick  eye  de- 
tected a  little  cove,  from  which  a  narrow  path  wound 
up  the  steep.  Instantly  he  was  on  his  way  back  to 
the  camp ;  and  soon  all  his  troops  were  quietly  get- 
ting ready  to  move. 

At  one  o'clock  at  night,  the  British  army  in  boats 
glided  quietly  down  the  river,  aided  by  the  rapid  cur- 
rent of  the  stream.  Darkness  hung  over  them  like 
a  curtain.  No  man  was  allowed  to  speak,  under 


17G 


THE   STORY    OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 


penalty  of  death.  The  little  pathway  was  reached. 
Wolfe  leaped  first  on  shore.  Encouraged  by  his 
cheerfulness  of  manner,  the  men  followed  their 

brave  young  leader 
up  the  rougii  ascent. 
At  sunrise  the  Brit- 
ish army  stood  on 
the  Plains  of  Abra- 
ham. 

WILL.  —  How  as- 


"Wolfe's  Army  ascending  the  Heights. 

tonished  General  Montcalm 
must  have  been  when  he  saw 
the  English  troops ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  battle  com- 
menced at  ten  o'clock ;  and  after  a  fierce  struggle 
the  English  gained  the  day. 


THE   FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WAR.  177 

Before  the  battle  was  over,  General  Wolfe  was 
fatally  wounded,  and  was  borne  from  the  field. 
While  dying,  he  heard  the  cry,  "  They  run  !  they 
run !  "  Rousing  himself,  he  said,  "  Who  run  ?  " 
Upon  being  told  it  was  the  French,  he  said,  "  I  die 
content ! " 

Montcalm,  too,  was  mortally  wounded.  When 
told  he  could  not  survive,  he  said,  "  I  am  glad  of  it ! 
I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec  ! " 

WILL.  —  With  both  generals  gone,  there  could 
not  be  much  more  fighting. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  after  the  first  day  of  battle,  most 
of  the  French  were  willing  to  give  up.  The  citi- 
zens of  Quebec  said,  "  We  have  cheerfully  sacrificed 
our  fortunes  and  our  houses,  but  we  cannot  expose 
our  wives  and  children  to  a  massacre."  And  soon 
after,  the  city  of  Quebec  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  English. 

This  victory  of  1759  caused  great  rejoicing 
throughout  the  colonies.  • 

There  was  no  more  fighting  in  America  at  this 
time  ;  but  there  were  battles  upon  the  sea  between 
the  English  and  French  ships. 

It  was  very  difficult  for  the  two  countries  to  de- 
cide what  each  should  keep  or  give  up.  So  it  was 
not  until  1763  that  ^matters  were  finally  settled  and 
peace  declared. 


178  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Through  the  French  and  Indian  war,  France  lost 
all  her  possessions  in  America,  except  twenty-three 
small  islands,  which  she  kept  as  a  shelter  for  her 
fishermen. 

LIZZIE. —  Then  after  1763  England  owned  Canada 
and  all  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

WILL.  —  Quite  a  big  slice  for  the  king  to  add  to 
his  land  in  America  ! 


WASHINGTON'S  BOYHOOD.  179 


XIX. 

WASHINGTON'S   BOYHOOD. 

WILL.  —  Are  you  not  going  to  tell  us  a  story 
about  Washington  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  We  did  hear  about  him,  in  the  taking 
of  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

WILL. —  Yes  ;  but  I  want  to  know  about  him  when 
he  was  a  little  boy,  and  afterwards  too. 

MOTHER.  —  There  is  not  much  to  be  told  about 
him,  except  as  he  was  working  with  and  for  his 
country ;  for  he  went  into  public  service  at  nine- 
teen. But  I  will  tell  you  the  story. 

Washington  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1732  — 

WILL.  —  Then  he  was  twenty-six  years  younger 
than  Franklin,  for  he  was  born  in  1706. 

MOTHER.  —  His  father  died  when  he  was  eleven, 
leaving  quite  a  large  property  to  the  mother,  who 
was  to  have  the  management  of  it  till  the  five  chil- 
dren came  of  age,  when  it  was  to  be  divided  be- 
tween them. 

WILL.  —  Then  Washington  didn't  have  to  work 
for  a  living. 


180  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  mistaken.  The  mother  was 
a  very  wise  and  energetic  woman ;  and  she  taught 
the  children  to  be  prudent,  economical,  and  indus- 
trious, as  she  was  herself.  There  were  very  few 
schools  at  the  south  at  that  time;  so  Washington 
had  not  the  means  of  getting  such  a  good  education 
as  most  boys  can  to-day.  His  book-learning  did  not 
go  beyond  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  book-keep- 
ing, and  surveying. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  he  went  into  the  army  so  young,  of 
course  he  couldn't  study  much  by  himself,  as  Frank- 
lin did. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  but  whatever  he  undertook  was 
done  thoroughly ;  and  some  of  his  school-books  show 
to-day  how  carefully  he  wrote,  and  with  what  exact- 
ness he  kept  his  accounts.  He  was  fond  of  the 
study  of  surveying ;  and  he  took  great  pleasure  in 
making  and  drawing  plans,  which  he  did  in  the  neat- 
est manner.  He  enjoyed  out-door  sports,  and  took 
every  sort  of  exercise  that  would  increase  his 
strength.  Once,  it  is  said,  he  threw  a  stone  across 
the  Rappahannock  opposite  his  father's  house ;  and 
no  one  else  was  ever  known  to  do  it.  One  of  his 
favorite  amusements  was  playing  soldier ;  and  as  he 
seemed  to  know  much  more  about  it  than  the  other 
boys,  they  always  made  him  captain. 

He  was  very  fond  of  horses ;  and  one  day,  mount- 


WASHINGTON'S  BOYHOOD.  181 

ing  a  fierce  animal  that  had  never  been  ridden  be- 
fore, undertook  to  tame  him.  The  horse  was  a 
valuable  one,  belonging  to  his  mother.  Washing- 
ton nearly  broke  his  own  neck ;  but  he  did  not  give 
up.  Finally  the  proud  animal  burst  a  blood-vessel, 
and  fell  dead  beneath  his  young  rider. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  the  mother  would  rather  some 
one  else  should  tame  her  horses  after  that. 

MOTHER.  —  She  was  very  sorry  to  lose  so  valuable 
a  horse  ;  but  she  forgot  her  loss  in  the  pleasure  she 
felt  at  having  her  son  come  to  her  at  once,  and 
frankly  tell  her  what  had  happened. 

Love  of  truth  was  one  of  Washington's  earliest 
traits  of  character ;  and  there  was  not  a  boy  among 
his  school  mates  who  didn't  believe,  that  if  he  said 
a  thing  he  meant  it,  or,  if  he  made  a  promise,  he 
would  keep  it. 

WILL.  —  I  remember  a  story  about  Washington, 
when  he  was  a  little  boy.  Some  one  made  him  a 
present  of  a  new  hatchet.  He  wanted  to  see  how 
it  would  cut,  so  he  went  and  hacked  one  of  his  fa- 
ther's cherry  trees.  When  his  father  came  into  the 
orchard,  and  saw  the  bark  all  hacked  up,  he  said, 
"  Who  has  cut  my  cherry  tree  that  I  thought  so 
much  of?  "  Washington  went  right  up  to  him  and 
said, "  Father,  I  can't  tell  a  lie ;  I  cut  it  with  my 
hatchet." 


182  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  Wasn't  that  noble  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Washington's  oldest  brother,  Lau- 
rence, was  a  captain  in  the  English  navy.  When  at 
home,  he  told  stories  of  his  adventures,  which  so 
excited  George  that  he  was  seized  with  a  longing 
to  enter  the  navy  and  go  to  sea.  His 'brother  en- 
couraged this ;  and  finally  his  mother  very  reluc- 
tantly gave  her  consent.  A  situation  was  procured 
for  him,  and  his  clothes  were  packed  and  sent  on 
board  the  ship ;  but  at  the  last  moment  the  mother 
felt  that  he  must  not  go,  and  she  begged  him  to 
give  up  all  thought  of  it.  Washington  dearly  loved 
his  mother,  and  the  thought  of  giving  her  pain 
was  harder  to  bear  than  to  give  up  his  longing 
for  the  sea.  H^e  yielded  to  her  wishes,  and  staid 
at  home. 

WILL.  —  Lucky  he  didn't  go  !  What  would  the 
country  have  done  without  him  ? 

MOTHER.  —  When  he  was  sixteen,  an  English 
nobleman,  who  owned  immense  tracts  of  land  in 
America,  was  visiting  at  a  neighboring  mansion ; 
he  became  much  interested  in  Washington,  and 
employed  him  to  survey  his  lands.  This  occupied 
Washington  for  over  three  years,  and  was  a  great 
advantage  to  him  in  many  ways.  Not  only  did 
he  receive  handsome  pay,  but  he  became  thor- 


WASHINGTON'S  BOYHOOD.  183 

oughly  acquainted  with  the  country  that  Braddock's 
army  afterwards  had  to  pass  through. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  that  was  the  reason  he  was  of  so 
much  help  to  General  Braddock. 

WILL.  —  He  must  have  had  a  rough  time,  out  in 
that  wild  country. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  indeed ;  but  he  loved  to  meet 
hardships ;  and  it  was  probably  the  best  training  he 
could  possibly  have  had,  to  fit  him  for  the  soldier's 
life  he  was  afterwards  to  lead. 

WILL.  —  I  can  see  now  why  the  Virginia  govern- 
ment should  choose  him  to  carry  the  message  to 
the  French  officers  on  the  Ohio :  he  knew  the  way, 
and  must  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Indians. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  the  governor  knew  that  whatever 
he  set  out  to  do,  he  did  well. 

MOTHER.  —  We  have  now  reached  the  time  in  his 
life  when  he  was  appointed  colonel  under  General 
Braddock.  After  this  there  is  little  to  tell  which 
you  will  not  hear  as  I  go  on  with  the  STORY  OP  OUR 
COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  Was  he  ever  married  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  when  he  was  twenty-seven  he 
married  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  young  widow, 
who  had  two  interesting  children.  When  he  was 
not  in  public  service,  he  lived  quietly  with  his  fam- 


184  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

ily  at  his  beautiful  home  on  the  Potomac,  known  as 
Mount  Vernon.  He  was  fond  of  agriculture,  and 
did  much  to  beautify  and  enrich  his  lands. 

Washington  loved  little  children ;  and  in  his  later 
years  adopted  two  of  his  wife's  grandchildren,  on 
the  death  of  their  father. 


ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY.       185 


XX. 

ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  Whenever  mother  tells  us  about  a  great 
man,  1  expect  to  hear  about  troubles  and  wars. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  see  how  there  could  be  any  such 
things  now.  Mother  said  they  had  no  more  Indian 
wars  at  this  time,  and  no  more  quarrels  with  the 
French. 

MOTHER.  —  The  next  vexation  came  from  the  king 
himself —  George  III. 

LIZZIE.  —  What !  when  all  the  colonies  belonged 
to  him  ! 

WILL.  —  When  John  Smith  and  the  other  James- 
town settlers  first  came  over,  they  had  a  great 
bother  because  James  II.  was  afraid  they  would 
forget  they  all  belonged  to  him.  And  I  can  see 
how  this  king  might  annoy  the  colonies  in  the  same 
way,  if  he  chose  to. 

MOTHER.  —  You  have  got  at  a  part  of  the  truth. 
While  the  settlements  remained  small,  England 
took  little"  notice  of  them ;  but  when  they  grew 
so  that  each  had  a  trade  of  its  own,  the  English 


186  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

government  began  to  be  jealous,  and  said,  "  The 
colonies  go  on  choosing  their  own  governors  and 
increasing  their  trade,  as  if  they  had  forgotten  they 
belonged  to  us." 

WILL.  —  But  they  had  charters  from  the  king, 
which  gave  them  a  right  to  govern  themselves. 

MOTHER. —  After  a  while  these  charters  were 
taken  away,  and  the  king  appointed  the  governors. 

WILL.  —  I  shouldn't  think  the  colonies  would 
have  liked  that  very  well. 

MOTHER.  —  Connecticut  never  gave  up  her  char- 
ter. Sir  Edmund  Andros,  who  had  been  appointed 
governor  of  New  England  and  New  York,  went  into 
the  assembly  at  Hartford,  and  said,  "  This  meeting 
is  not  lawful.  /  am  governor  of  Connecticut ;  and 
in  the  king's  name  I  demand  the  charter  of  this 
colony." 

The  charter  lay  upon  the  table.  Suddenly  the 
members  of  the  assembly  put  out  all  the  lights ;  and 
one  of  their  number  quickly  carried  out  the  charter, 
and  hid  it  in  the  hollow  of  a  large  oak. 

WILL.  —  Good  !  I  wish  all  the  assemblies  had 
done  so. 

MOTHER.  —  The  next  vexation  to  the  colonies  came 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war. 

WILL.—  Which  was  in  1763. 

MOTHER.  —  England  owed  a  great  deal  of  money 


ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY.       187 

on  account  of  this  war ;  and  she  said,  "  This  war 
was  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  colonies,  and  they 
ought  to  help  us  pay  off  our  great  debt.'' 

WILL.  —  I  don't  believe  England  cared  so  much 
to  help  the  colonies  as  to  whip  France.  Besides,  I 
should  like  to  know  if  the  colonies  hadn't  done  their 
part  already.  They  had  sent  their  men  to  war ;  and 
didn't  that  cost  something? 

LIZZIE.  —  They  had  all  the  fighting  near  their  own 
homes. 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  suffered  much  through  the 
war,  and  they,  as  well  as  England,  owed  a  great 
deal  of  money  on  account  of  it. 

WILL.  —  Then  I  hope  they  didn't  help  England 
pay  off  her  debt. 

MOTHER.  —  The  way  the  king  intended  to  get 
money  from  them  was  by  making  them  pay  for  the 
privilege  of  receiving  goods  from  the  English  mar- 
kets. We  call  such  money  "  duties."  The  kin^- 
sent  over  officers  to  search  the  ships  coming  into 
port,  lest  the  people  should  receive  goods  without 
paying  not  alone  what  they  were  worth,  but  the 
duties  also. 

When  the  people  heard  of  this,  they  were  sur- 
prised and  vexed.  They  said,  "  Do  not  the  colonies 
belong  to  the  king?  And  shall  a  man  pay  for  cat- 
ing  bread  in  his  own  house  ?  We  will  have  no  more 


188  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

goods  from  England !  We  will  spin  and  weave  fur 
ourselves !  And  we  will  eat  no  more  mutton,  for 
fear  we  shall  not  have  wool  enough  for  our  winter 
clothes !  " 

WILL.  —  I  am  glad  the  colonists  were  so  spunky ! 
Served  the  king  right ! 

MOTHER.  —  Then  came  another  grievance,  still 
worse.  The  colonists  had  been  very  industrious; 
factories  had  sprung  up  along  the  rivers;  and  in 
man}'  of  the  little  towns  the  busy  hum  of  labor 
could  be  heard.  Every  year  were  made  quantities 
of  linen  and  woollen  cloths,. hats,  paper,  shoes,  fur- 
niture, and  farming  tools. 

England  said,  "  This  manufacturing  by  the  colo- 
nists is  hurting  our  trade.  They  must  stop  their 
factories,  and  buy  of  us." 

And  for  fear  they  would  go  on  making  things  for 
themselves,  England  said,  "  The  Americans  shall 
pay  us  duties  on  all  goods  carried  from  one  colony 
to  another." 

WILL.  —  0,  how  angry  that  makes  me  ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  next  vexation  they  had  to  bear 
came  through  the  Stamp  Act. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  was  that  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No  American  could  buy  a  newspaper 
unless  it  had  a  stamp  on  it.  And  stamps  must  be 
bought  for  all  paper  used  in  business.  These  stamps 


ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY.       189 

cost  more  or  less,  according  to  -the  business  they 
were  used  in ;  and  often  one  had  to  pay  a  large  sum 
for  them.  The  money  paid  was  all  to  go  to  Eng- 
land. 

WILL.  —  The  colonists  wouldn't  stand  that,  I 
am  sure. 

MOTHER.  —  When  the  news  first  reached  America, 
the  people  were  again  very  indignant.  "  Does 
England  want  to  make  slaves  of  us?"  they  asked. 
"  Shall  we  give  up  all  our  rights  as  Englishmen  ? 
Never ! " 

There  was  a  young  lawyer  in  Boston,  named 
James  Otis,  who  was  a  very  fine  speaker.  And 
when  the  people  met  to  talk  about  the  Stamp  Act, 
he  spoke  so  grandly  and  fearlessly  that  all  Boston 
was  on  fire  with  indignation  at  the  injustice ;  and 
they  said,  "  We  will  never  be  taxed  by  England  ! 
We  will  not  buy  a  stamp  ! " 

After  this,  Otis  and  some  other  noted  men  sent 
letters  to  the  different  colonies,  begging  them  never 
to  submit  to  taxation.  This  was  hardly  necessary, 
for  they  were  all  angry  at  England. 

In  Virginia  another  eloquent  man  named  Patrick 
Henry  roused  the  people  in  the  same  way. 

Some  of  Otis's  writings  went  over  to  England  ; 
and  the  king  said,  "  The  man  is  mad  !  Do  not  the 
colonies  belong  to  us?  Have  we  not  a  right  to  do 
by  them  as  we  choose  ?  " 


190  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY., 

In  the  mean  time  the  principal  men  of  this 
country  got  together,  and  agreed  to  be  united  by 
one  thought  —  not  to  be  imposed  upon  by  England. 
They  sent  a  petition  to  the  king,  asking  that  he 
would  not  require  them  to  obey  the  Stamp  Act. 
They  also  asked  him  if  a  few  men  might  go  to  par- 
liament to  speak  for  the  interest  of  the  colonies. 
They  had  a  right  to  expect  this ;  for  parliament  is 
made  up  of  men  from  the  different  parts  of  England, 
each  one  to  speak  for  the  town  or  county  to  which 
he  belongs. 

WILL.  —  Then  of  course  they  ought  to  have  had 
men  from  the  colonies  in  parliament. 

MOTHER.  —  The  king  took  no  notice  of  the  peti- 
tion ;  and  the  1st  of  November  came,  the  day  when 
the  stamps  were  first  to  be  used.  It  was  set  aside 
as  a  day  of  mourning.  The  bells  were  muffled  and 
tolled.  The  flags  were  at  half-mast.  The  stamp 
officers  were  insulted,  and  their  property  destroyed. 
In  Boston,  a  stuffed  image  of  the  principal  stamp 
officer  was  hung  by  the  neck  on  an  elm  tree. 

For  a  few  days  all  business  which  required  stamps 
was  stopped.  But  soon  the  people  concluded  to 
take  no  notice  of  the  new  law,  and  went  on  trading 
as  before.. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  the  king  didn't  like  that. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  he  was  more  determined  than 
ever  to  oppress  the  colonies. 


ANGER  AT  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY.      If)  I' 

LIZZIE.  —  Franklin  helped  the  Americans  before  ; 
couldn't  he  do  something  for  them  now  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  in  England  at  this  time.  He 
had  been  chosen  by  our  people  to  speak  of  the 
wrongs  they  were  suffering. 

The  Stamp  Act  was  displeasing  to  many  in  Eng- 
land, as  well  as  in  America.  The  manufacturers 
and  tradesmen  were  sending  in  petitions  to  have 
it  repealed,  because  they  were  suffering  from  the 
loss  of  American  trade.  There  was  a  great  talk  in 
parliament  as  to  whether  the  act  ought  to  be  set 
aside  or  not. 

Franklin  was  better  known  and  more  highly 
thought  of  at  that  time  than  any  other  American. 
Parliament  sent  for  him.  And  before  a  crowded 
house  of  eager  listeners,  he  was  asked  all  kinds  of 
questions  about  the  colonies.  His  clear  and  ready 
answers,  and  his  description  of  affairs  in  this 
country,  had  great  influence.  What  he  said  was 
thought  so  important  that  it  was  translated  into 
French,  and  was  soon  read  by  all  Europe. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  didn't  parliament  take  back  the 
Stamp  Act? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes;  but  I  think  that  even  Franklin 
would  not  have  been  able  to  bring  this  about,  if 
there  had  not  been  one  man  in  parliament  who  was 
a  friend  to  the  common  people  everywhere.  On 


192         THE  STORY  OP  OUR  COUNTRY. 

that  account  he  was  sometimes  called  the  Great 
Commoner.  You  heard  of  him  during  the  French 
and  Indian  war. 

WILL.  —  Do  you  mean  William  Pitt? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  Pitt  was  a  very  eloquent  speak- 
er, and  he  pleaded  hard  for  the  Americans.  Among 
other  things,  he  said :  '•  The  colonists  ought  not  to 
be  taxed  without  their  consent.  They  ought  not  to 
be  taxed,  unless  parliament  is  willing  to  have  some 
of  their  chosen  men  among  its  members.  The 
Stamp  Act  is  a  wicked  law,  and  I  am  glad  the  col- 
onies did  not  obey  it." 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  wouldn't  they  have  Americans  in 
parliament  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Franklin  said,  it  was  because  the 
English  aristocracy,  or  rich  people,  felt  above  the 
colonists.  At  any  rate,  the  rich  folks  didn't  like 
Pitt's  speeches,  and  the  poor  folks  did. 

Finally,  as  I  said,  the  Stamp  Act  was  done  away 
with.  The  news  was  joyfully  received  in  America, 
and  great  honor  was  given  to  the  name  of  Pitt. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  not  to  Franklin  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  and  to  Franklin. 


STIRRING  TIMES  IN  BOSTON.  193 


XXI. 

STIRRING   TIMES   IN   BOSTON. 

MOTHER.  —  The  joy  felt  by  the  Americans  when 
the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed  did  not  last  long.  The 
king  was  more  afraid  than  ever  that  the  colonies 
would  not  show  proper  obedience  to  his  laws.  So 
he  sent  over  a  large  body  of  soldiers,  under  Gen- 
eral Gage,  to  keep  the  people  in  awe.  Orders  also 
came  that  these  troops  were  to  be  housed  and  fed 
by  the  colonists  themselves. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  people  didn't  relish  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  New  York  and  Massachusetts  refused 
to  care  for  the  troops.  Upon  this,  the  Massachu- 
setts governor,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the 
king,  opened  the  State  House  for  the  soldiers ;  and 
large  numbers  of  them  were  in  tents  on  Boston 
Common. 

These  English  soldiers  were  very  insulting  to  the 
citizens,  who  became  more  and  more  alarmed  for 
their  rights.  Even  the  children  found  reason  to 
complain. 

13 


194 


THE   STORY    OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 


LIZZIE.  —  I  should  think  they  would  have  liked  to 
see  the  soldiers  marching  about. 

MOTHER.  —  At  first  they  did ;  for  the  soldiers  had 
bright  red  coats,  and  made  a  very  gay  appearance. 


Al 


Boston  Boys  standing  up  for  their  Bights. 


But  after  a  while  the  Boston  boys  became  much 
vexed  at  the  red-coats,  because  they  would  trample 
down  their  forts  of  snow  which  they  had  built  on 


STIRRING   TIMES  IN   BOSTON.  195 

the  Common.  They  asked  the  soldiers,  "  What's 
the  use  of  spoiling  our  fun?"  But  the  red-coats 
answered,  "  Help  yourselves  if  you  can,  you  young 
rebels ! " 

Then  the  boys  complained  to  the  captain,  but 
only  got  laughed  at.  Finally  the  little  company 
marched  to  General  Gage  himself. 

"  Who  taught  you  rebellion,  and  sent  you  here  to 
show  it  ?  "  said  he. 

"  No  one  sent  us,"  said  the  boys.  "  We  have 
come  to  complain  of  your  troops.  This  is  the  third 
time  they  have  spoiled  our  forts  and  broken  our 
skating-ice,  and  we  will  bear  it  no  longer !  " 

"  Liberty  is  in  the  very  air,  and  the  boys  breathe 
it !  "  said  General  Gage  aside  to  one  of  his  officers. 
Then  to  the  young  soldiers  he  said,  "  Go,  my  brave 
boys !  and  take  my  word  for  it,'  if  my  troops  ever 
trouble  you  again,  they  shall  be  punished." 

Shortly  afterwards  a  most  serious  trouble  arose 
through  these  same  British  troops,  called  the  BOS- 
TON MASSACRE. 

LIZZIE.  —  Massacre  ?  That  means  killing  people 
—  doesn't  it? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  One  moonlight  night,  a  party 
of  wild  young  men  came  down  one  of  the  Boston 
streets.  As  they  drew  near  the  English  sentinel 
who  was  pacing  to  and  fro  in  front  of  the  custom- 


196  THE  STORY   OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 

house,  he  halted,  pointed  his  bayonet  towards  their 
breasts,  and  said  in  a  gruff  voice,  "  Who  goes 
there  ?  " 

The  young  Bostonians  felt  they  had  a  right  to 
walk  in  their  own  streets,  without  being  stopped  by 
a  British  red-coat;  so  they  made  a  rude  reply.  This 
provoked  the  sentinel,  and  a  quarrel  began.  Other 
soldiers,  who  were  in  the  barracks  near  by,  heard 
the  noise  and  ran  out  to  assist  their  comrade. 

By  this  time,  a  good  many  Bostonians  rushed  out 
to  see  what  the  fuss  was  all  about.  The  crowd, 
which  was  fast  becoming  larger,  saw  that  there  was 
a  dispute  between  the  British  soldiers  and  the  citi- 
zens. This  was  enough  to  stir  them  up.  They  re- 
membered how  often  the  British  troops  had  insulted 
them,  and  how  patiently  they  had  borne  it.  Now 
they  were  threatening  the  lives  of  Massachusetts 
men.  This  was  past  endurance ;  and  they  took  up 
snow  and  lumps  of  ice  and  pelted  the  red-coats. 
Of  course  this  made  the  soldiers  still  more  angry. 

The  noise  now  reached  the  ears  of  the  captain. 
He  ordered  a  squad  of  soldiers  to  take  their  muskets 
and  follow  him.  They  marched  through  the  crowd, 
roughly  pushing  people  aside,  till  they  reached  the 
sentinel's  post.  Here  the  captain  drew  them  up  in 
a  semicircle,  facing  the  crowd.  When  the  people 
saw  this,  their  rage  was  almost  beyond  bounds. 


STIRRING   TIMES   IN   BOSTON.  197 

"  Fire,  you  lobster-backs  !  "  yelled  some. 

"  You  dare  not  fire,  you  cowardly  red-coats  ! " 
cried  others. 

Upon  this,  the  eyes  of  the  soldiers  glared  upon 
the  people  like  hungry  blood-hounds.  The  captain 
waved  his  sword.  The  red-coats  pointed  their  guns 
at  the  crowd.  In  a  moment  the  flash  of  their  mus- 
kets lighted  up  the  street;  and  eleven  New  England 
men  fell  bleeding  upon  the  snow :  three  were  dead, 
and  eight  wounded. 

LIZZIE.  —  Eleven  New  England  men  1 

WILL.  —  The  colonists  were  not  any  more  ready 
to  love  George  III.  after  that. 

MOTHER.  —  People  throughout  the  country  never 
forgot  that  day.  A  spark  was  kindled  in  the  hearts 
of  Americans  that  afterwards  grew  into  a  mighty  fire. 

Not  long  after  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  the 
king  said,  "  It  will  not  do  to  take  away  every  tax  on 
goods  sent  to  America.  That  will  be  yielding  too 
much.  But  we  will  require  them  to  pay  a  small 
amount  only,  say  a  few  cents  on  each  pound  of 
tea.  Surely  they  will  not  refuse  to  pay  that ! " 

LIZZIE.  —  I  shouldn't  think  they  would  have 
minded  just  a  few  cents. 

WILL.  —  But,  don't  you  see  ?  The  colonists 
wouldn't  pay  any  taxes,  unless  they  could  send 
men  to  parliament. 


198  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  Then  the  tea  tax  would  make  another 
stir. 

MOTHER.  —  When  the  news  reached  the  colonies, 
every  true-hearted  American  declared  he  wouldn't 
touch  a  cup  of  tea  till  the  tax  was  taken  off. 

A  large  quantity  of  tea  was  shipped  to  South 
Carolina.  The  citizens  allowed  it  to  be  landed,  but 
quietly  stored  it  in  damp  cellars,  where  it  soon 
spoiled. 

The  vessels  which  brought  tea  to  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  were  compelled  to  take  their  cargoes 
back  to  England. 

Three  ships  came  to  Boston  laden  with  tea,  which 
the  governor  said  must  be  landed.  The  citizens 
held  indignation  meetings  in  Faneuil  Hall.  A  very 
daring  man,  who  dearly  loved  his  country,  and  was 
ready  to  die  for  her,  took  the  lead  in  these  meetings. 
His  name  was  Samuel  Adams.  The  English  hated 
him,  because  he  stirred  up  the  people  to  a  love  of 
liberty. 

During  one  of  these  meetings,  a  petition  was  sent 
to  the  governor,  asking  permission  to  have  the  tea 
carried  back  to  England.  The  answer  came  to  the 
waiting  crowd  that  the  tea  must  be  landed.  Then 
Samuel  Adams  rose  and  said,  "  This  meeting  can  do 
nothing  more  to  save  the  country." 

Instantly  a  war-whoop  was  heard  at  the  entrance 


STIRRING  TIMES  IN  BOSTON.  199 

of  the  hall ;  and  a  party  of  fifty  men,  disguised  as 
Indians,  rushed  down  to  the  wharf,  jumped  on  board 
the  ships,  and  threw  every  chest  of  tea  overboard. 

WILL  and  LIZZIE.  —  Hurrah  for  Boston  ! 

MOTHER.  —  This  was  in  1773;  and  it  was  called 
"The  Boston  Tea  Party." 


200  THE  STORY  OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 


XXII. 

THE  QUARREL  INCREASES.  — FIGHTING  BEGINS. 

MOTHER.  —  When  the  news  of  these  events  reached 
England,  the  king  said,  "  Boston  shall  be  punished 
for  this ;  "  and  an  order  was  given  forbidding  any 
ship  to  go  to  Boston,  even  from  American  ports. 

WILL.  —  Then  how  could  the  people  get  what 
they  needed? 

MOTHER.  —  The  ships  were  to  go  to  Salem.  But 
the  Salem  people  would  not  take  advantage  of  the 
Boston  Port  Bill,  as  it  was  called.  They  freely 
invited  the  Boston  merchants  to  come  there  and  use 
their  wharves. 

Parliament  knew  that  Massachusetts  would  rebel ; 
for  the  people  of  Boston  suffered  greatly  from  this 
sudden  losing  of  their  trade.  So  four  thousand 
more  soldiers  were  sent  to  Massachusetts,  and  Gen- 
eral Gage,  commander  of  the  British  troops  in 
America,  was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony. 

WILL.  —  If  Massachusetts  couldn't  help  herself, 
the  other  colonies  would  do  something  for  her,  I 
know. 


THE   QUARREL   INCREASES.  201 

MOTHER.  —  They  sent  a  great  many  gifts  to  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  southern  colonies  sent  flour  and 
rice  ;  the  middle  colonies,  corn  and  iron ;  and  many 
towns  sent  money. 

LIZZIE.  —  England  didn't  expect  the  Boston  folks 
would  be  helped  in  that  way,  I  am  thinking. 

MOTHER.  —  The  British  government  thought  the 
Boston  Port  Bill  would  frighten  the  colonies  into 
obedience.  But  Massachusetts,  too  indignant  to  be 
afraid,  resolved  that  there  should  be  a  meeting  of 
the  principal  men  of  the  colonies  to  see  what  could 
be  done  to  protect  themselves  against  the  increasing 
insults  of  the  mother-country. 

WILL.  —  As  the  governors  of  the  different  colo- 
nies were  chosen  by  the  king,  I  can  see  that  they 
would  not  like  such  a  meeting  as  that. 

MOTHER.  —  They  did  not.  But  the  people  were 
not  hindered  in  their  plan  ;  and  a  meeting  was  held 
in  Philadelphia,  called  the  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CON- 
GRESS. At  this  congress  it  was  decided  that  the 
whole  country  should  help  Massachusetts  get  her 
rights.  They  also  resolved  to  send  one  more  peti- 
tion to  the  king. 

In  the  mean  time  the  people  of  Masachusetts  had 
a  meeting,  at  which  John  Hancock  presided. 

LIZZIE.  —  John  Hancock  —  who  was  he  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  a  wealthy  Boston  merchant, 


202  THE   STORY   OP    OUR   COUNTRY. 

who  dared  to  say  or  do  anything  for  the  good  of  his 
country. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  decided  to  call  upon  the 
citizens  to  form  themselves  into  military  companies, 
who  would  be  ready  to  take  up  arms  at  a  minute's 
warning.  On  this  account  they  were  called  Minute- 
men. 

Soon  all  the  other  colonies  got  ready  to  defend 
themselves  in  the  same  way. 

LIZZIE.  —  Didn't  the  king  treat  them  any  better 
after  he  got  the  petition  from  the  people? 

MOTHER.  —  George  III.  was  stubborn ;  and  the 
more  unwilling  the  colonists  were  to  obey  cruel 
laws,  the  more  determined  he  was  to  take  all  privi- 
leges from  them. 

The  next  thing  he  did  was  to  forbid  any  New 
Englanders  fishing  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  what  there  was  left  for  the 
colonists  to  do,  but  to  starve,  or  fight  for  their 
rights.  Of  course,  after  they  had  worked  so  hard, 
clearing  the  forests  and  fighting  the  Indians,  to  get 
decent  homes  for  themselves,  they  wouldn't  give  up 
everything,  to  be  worse  off  than  they  were  before 
they  came  over. 

MOTHER.  —  They  didn't  really  think  of  war  at  this 
time.  They  only  wanted  to  get  their  rights,  and 
not  be  imposed  upon  by  England. 


THE  QUARREL   INCREASES.  203 

WILL.  —  I  shouldn't  think  General  Gage  would 
have  liked  their  raising  companies  of  soldiers. 

MOTHER.  —  He  did  not ;  and  he  determined  to  de- 
stroy their  military  stores,  if  they  should  have  any. 

The  colonists  suspected  this.  They  had  a  quan- 
tity of  powder,  muskets,  <fec.,  at  Concord,  about  six- 
teen miles  from  Boston.  As  it  was  feared  that 
General  Gage  might  find  it  out,  there  was  an  under- 
standing that  certain  citizens  should  watch  the 
enemy's  movements.  If  at  any  time  English  troops 
should  march  from  Boston,  there  was  to  be  a  signal 
given  from  the  belfry  of  the  old  North  Church. 

One  night,  in  April,  1775,  a  thrill  of  alarm  filled 
a  little  band  of  patriots  in  Charleskwn,  as  they  saw 
a  light  appear  in  the  belfry.  Paul  Revere,  who  had 
been  chosen  to  carry  the  news  to  Concord,  quickly 
mounted  a  horse;  with  almost  lightning  speed  he 
galloped  to  Medford.  Here  he  stopped  at  a  house 
where  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock  were 
sleeping. 

"  Don't  make  so  much  noise !  "  said  a  man  on 
guard  before  the  house. 

"  Noise  !  "  said  Paul  Revere.  "  You'll  have  noise 
enough  before  long!  The  red-coats  are  on  their 
way  to  Concord  !  "  And  away  he  flew,  giving  the 
alarm  at  the  house  of  every  sleeping  farmer  till  he 
reached  Concord. 


204  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  I  am  sure  there  wasn't  much  more  sleep- 
ing that  night. 

MOTHER.  —  As  soon  as  the  Concord  people  were 
roused,  they  began  moving  the  military  stores  into 
the  woods.  In  the  mean  time,  eight  hundred  Brit- 
ish troops,  under  command  of  Major  Pitcairn,  were 
on  the  road.  They  had  hoped  to  quietly  get  pos- 
session of  the  stores  before  morning.  But  as  they 
passed  along,  and  heard  the  ringing  of  bells,  and 
saw  the  hurrying  to  and  fro  of  the  people,  they 
knew  that  their  plans  had  been  found  out.  So  they 
sent  back  for  more  troops. 

Major  Pitcairn  reached  Lexington,  a  town  east  of 
Concord,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Here  he 
found  seventy  minute-men  in  arms,  collected  on  the 
green. 

"  You  villains  !  you  rebels  !  "  cried  he  ;  "  disperse  ! 
Why  don't  you  lay  down  your  arms  and  disperse?" 

Then  the  British  soldiers  fired,  and  eighteen  of 
the  seventy  Lexington  men  were  killed  or  wounded. 
Then  the  red-coats,  giving  three  "  hurrahs,"  marched 
on  towards  Concord. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  that  was  too  bad  ! 

WILL.  —  What  else  could  the  Concord  soldiers 
expect,  when  there  were  nearly  a  thousand  Britisli  ? 

MOTHER.  —  On  that  same  morning,  —  April  19, 
1775,  —  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  minute-men 


FIGHTING   BEGINS.  205 

had  assembled  on  a  hill  overlooking  Concord.  From 
this  point  they  could  see  the  English  destroying 
their  military  stores  and  provisions.  They  saw 
them  cut  down  the  liberty-pole  and  set  the  court- 
house on  fire. 

WILL.  —  0,  how  the  Concord  men  must  have 
longed  to  let  their  bullets  fly ! 

MOTHER.  —  They  knew  it  was  useless  to  attack 
so  much  larger  numbers  in  an  open  fight. 

A  portion  of  the  English  were  guarding  a  bridge 
at  the  entrance  of  the  town.  The  minute-men 
marched  down  from  the  hill,  and  fired  upon  these 
red-coats,  who  fled  in  great  confusion,  having  one 
man  killed  and  several  wounded. 

When  the  English  had  destroyed  all  the  military 
stores  they  could  find,  they  set  out  to  return  to 
Boston,  carrying  their  wounded.  But  they  were 
not  to  go  back  as  easily  as  they  came. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  they  wouldn't  if  I  had  been  a 
minute-man  ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  whole  country  around  was  roused, 
and  men  came  hurrying  from  all  directions.  They 
were  generally  in  their  shirt-sleeves,  but  they  had 
guns  in  their  hands  and  powder  in  their  flasks. 
Scarcely  a  tree  or  a  wall  did  the  English  pass  that 
did  not  shelter  minute-men.  Sometimes  there  were 
companies,  sometimes  only  single  farmers.  The 


206 


THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


English   afterwards    said,   "  It    seemed   as   if   men 
dropped  from  the  clouds." 

Every  mile  the  British  made  in  their  march  back, 
the  fewer  men  did  they  have.     At  last  their  amrnu- 


Retreat  of  the  British  Irom  Concord. 

nition  was  nearly  gone,  and  they  began  to  run  in 
great  disorder. 

WILL.  —  Brave  English  troops  !  Raw  country 
militia ! 

MOTHER.  —  Before  long,  more  troops  from  Boston 


FIGHTING   BEGINS.  207 

came  to  their  aid.  These  troops  formed  a  hollow 
square,  into  which  the  tired  runaways  ran,  and 
threw  themselves  down  on  the  ground  for  rest,  their 
tongues  hanging  out  of  their  mouths,  like  hunt- 
ed dogs. 

During  the  rest  of  their  march  they  were  con- 
stantly fired  upon,  so  that  they  were  glad  to  get  back 
to  Boston,  under  the  protection  of  General  Gage. 

If  the  English  had  not  been  re-enforced,  they 
would  have  had  to  surrender.  As  it  was,  they  lost 
two  hundred  and  seventy-three  men;  while  the 
Americans  lost  only  eighty-eight. 

WILL.  —  I  wonder  what  George  III.  said  to  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  England  was  greatly  astonished  to 
hear  that  the  regulars,  as  the  king's  troops  were 
called,  had  retreated  or  run  away  from  American 
farmers. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  guess  the  other  colonies  were  sur- 
prised when  they  heard  of  it  too. 

MOTHER.  —  It  caused  a  great  excitement  all  over 
the  country. 

When  Samuel  Adams  heard  the  guns  at  Lexing- 
ton, he  exclaimed,  "  What  a  glorious  morning  is 
this ! » 

LIZZIE.  —  Glorious  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  knew  that  the  time  had  come  when 
men  were  to  fight  for  their  freedom. 


208  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  And  I  suppose  he  knew  they  could  not 
get  it  in  any  other  way. 

MOTHER.  —  It  seemed  to  be  all  that  was  left  for 
Americans  to  do ;  for  when  George  III.  heard  how 
affairs  were  going  on,  he  immediately  sent  over 
another  large  body  of  troops,  under  three  famous 
generals,  named  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne :  so 
that  there  were  now  ten  thousand  soldiers  in 
Boston. 

In  the  meantime,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock, 
and  other  leading  men  had  aroused  more  Americans 
to  enlist  as  soldiers,  in  case  they  should  be  attacked 
by  the  English ;  and  before  the  end  of  April,  fifteen 
thousand  men  had  gathered  about  Boston. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  they  didn't  know  much  about 
war. 

MOTHER.  —  No ;  and  they  had  very  few  cannon 
and  muskets,  and  only  a  little  powder. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  hope  the  English  didn't  know  this. 

WILL.  —  If  they  knew  there  were  fifteen  thousand 
men  around  Boston,  who  were  ready  to  fight,  I  don't 
believe  they  were  in  a  hurry  to  get  outside  of  the 
city.  They  remembered  too  well  the  run  from 
Concord. 

MOTHER.  —  General  Gage  began  to  get  ready  for 
war.  The  king,  Geoi'ge  III.,  had  told  him  to  offer 
pardon  to  any  who  would  leave  the  American  side 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR.  209 

and  join  the  English.  But  there  were  two  men 
who  were  not  to  be  pardoned,  but  were  to  be  hanged 
if  caught. 

WILL.  —  I  think  I  know  who  they  were  —  Sam 
Adams  and  John  Hancock.     But  that  shows  what 
true  patriots  they  were. 
14 


210  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XXIII. 

THE   REVOLUTIONAY    WAR. 

.MOTHER.  —  Boston  is  partly  enclosed  by  two 
ranges  of  highlands — Dorchester  Heights  on  the 
south,  and  Bunker  Hill  and  Breed's  Hill  on  the 
north-west.  These  two  hills  are  in  Charlestown. 
Both  parties  were  anxious  to  get  possession  of  these 
ranges. 

WILL.  —  Yes ;  for  the  army  that  was  on  the  hills 
could  keep  the  other  army  out  of  Boston. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Americans  found  out  that  General 
Gage  was  getting  ready  to  move  a  part  of  his  troops 
on  to  the  heights  in  Charlestown;  so  one  night 
Colonel  Prescott  was  sent  with  about  a  thousand 
men,  to  throw  up  banks  of  earth  on  Bunker  Hill. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  see  what  that  was  for. 

MOTHER.  —  In  case  the  British  tried  to  take  the 
hill,  the  Americans  could  hide  behind  this  earth 
fort,  and  protect  themselves  from  the  attacks  of  the 
enemy. 

Prescott's  soldiers  worked  so  quietly  that  the 
English  knew  nothing  of  what  was  going  on  till  the 
next  morning,  when  they  saw  the  earth  fort.  Then 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR.  211 

General  Gage  watched  the  .Americana  through  a 
telescope,  and  decided  it  was  best  to  commence 
battle  at  once.  He  ordered  a  firing  of  cannon  from 
Copp's  Hill  in  Boston  and  from  the  ships  of  war  in 
the  harbor.  The  Americans  went  on  with  their 
work,  and  cared  little  for  the  firing.  They  lost  by 
it  only  one  man. 

It  was  the  morning  of  the -17th  of  June,  1775. 
General  Gage  sent  four  thousand  soldiers  to  Charles- 
town  in  boats.  The  weather  was  very  hot;  and  the 
English  troops  carried  knapsacks  on  their  backs 
weighing  over  a  hundred  pounds  each.  In  the 
meantime  the  dreadful  news  of  the  coming  battle 
was  spread,  and  every  roof  in  Boston  and  Charles- 
town  was  crowded  with  people  anxiously  watching 
the  two  sides. 

Colonel  Prescott  and  General  Putnam  were  mov- 
ing about  among  their  soldiers,  giving  orders  and 
speaking  words  of  cheer,  when  a  handsome  young 
man  on  horseback  came  galloping  up  and  said,  "  I 
come  to  aid  as  a  volunteer.  Tell  me  where  I  can 
be  most  useful." 

This  was  General  Warren,  a  physician  of  Boston, 
a  true  patriot,  who  had  given  a  large  part  of  his 
time  to  serving  his  country  since  the  troubles  with 
England  began. 

General  Putnam  exclaimed,  "  Is  it  you,  General 


212  THE   STORY    OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Warren  ?  I  am  glad  and  sorry  to  see  you !  Your 
life  is  too  precious  to  be  exposed  in  this  battle. 
But  since  you  are  here,  go  to  the  fort;  you  will 
there  be  covered." 

"  I  came  not  to  be  covered,"  replied  General  War- 
ren. "  Tell  me  where  the  battle  will  be  hottest." 

"  The  enemy  will  try  to  take  the  fort,"  said  Gen- 
eral Putnam.  "  If  that  can  be  defended,  the  day  is 
ours." 

General  Warren  rode  along  to  the  fort.  The 
troops  recognized  him,  and  welcomed  him  with 
three  cheers,  for  he  was  much  beloved. 

WILL.  —  You  said  there  were  four  thousand 
British  soldiers.  Were  there  only  a  thousand 
Americans  to  fight  them? 

MOTHER.  —  Others  had  joined  them,  so  that  there 
were  now  between  two  and  three  thousand.  But 
they  were  not  nearly  so  well  prepared  for  battle  as 
the  English.  They  were  without  fLod  and  water, 
and  had  very  little  ammunition  —  by  that  I  mean 
powder  and  balls.  But  they  had  the  pure  fire  of 
patriotism  in  their  hearts. 

After  a  while  the  English  troops  began  to  move 
slowly  up  the  hill,  dragging  their  cannons  after 
them.  The  American  drums  beat  to  arms.  Put- 
nam, who  was  still  at  work  on  the  fort,  led  his  men 
into  action.  "  Keep  still !  "  said  he.  "  Don't  fire 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.  213 

till  you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes ;  then  aim  at 
the  officers." 

The  British  troops  were  now  only  eight  rods  off. 
"  Now,  men !  now  is  /our  time  ! "  said  Prescott. 
"  Make  ready  !  Take  aim  !  Fire  I  " 

The  smoke  cleared  away :  the  whole  hill-side  be- 
low the  fort  was  covered  with  the  dead ;  and  the  re- 
maining English  troops  were  running  down  the  hill. 

WILL.  —  Hurrah  for  victory  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Victory  had  not  come  yet.  After  the 
first  attack  there  was  a  pause  in  the  battle.  It  was 
only  the  lull  that  comes  before  the  thunder-bolt. 
Charlestown  was  in  flames,  by  order  of  the  British 
general. 

LIZZIE.  —  How  wicked  ! 

MOTHER.  —  Soon  the  British  troops  again  ascend- 
ed the  hill.  Again  they  were  driven  back.  Victory 
for  the  Americans  seemed  almost  certain.  Putnam 
rode  along  the  line,  shouting,  "  Drive  back  the  red- 
coats once  more,  boys,  and  the  day  is  ours  ! " 

The  English  soldiers  were  very  unwilling  to  ad- 
vance again ;  but  their  officers  made  still  greater 
preparations  for  the  third  attack.  More  troops 
came  over  from  Boston,  and  they  were  ordered  to 
leave  their  knapsacks  behind.  General  Howe  had 
so  arranged  his  cannon  that  they  would  sweep 
along  the  whole  line  of  the  Americans. 


214  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  And  our  men  hadn't  any  cannon. 

MOTHER.  —  Scarcely  any ;  and  now  their  powder 
and  balls  were  almost  gone.  There  was  hardly 
enough  for  one  more  round  of  firing.  And  when 
the  third  attack  from  the  English  came,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done  but  to  fire  once  and  then  fall 
back. 

LIZZIE.  —  Too  bad  ! 

MOTHER.  —  In  the  retreat  they  lost  far  more  than 
in  the  battle.  The  English  finally  won  the  day ;  but 
they  dearly  bought  it.  They  had  lost  over  a  thou- 
sand men ;  the  Americans  not  half  as  many.  But 
among  the  Americans  the  bravest  of  the  brave  had 
fallen  —  the  beloved  General  Warren.  When  Gen- 
eral Howe  heard  this,  he  said,  "  Warren's  death  is 
equal  to  the  loss  of  five  hundred  men  to  the  Ameri- 
cans." 

LIZZIE.  —  So  the  Americans  got  beaten  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  after  all. 

WILL.  —  Not  so  badly  as  might  be.  I  don't  see 
how  they  got  along  as  well  as  they  did  —  a  lot  of 
farmers  fighting  the  king's  regulars,  who  had  spent 
their  lives  in  training  for  war. 

MOTHER.  —  If  this  battle  was  a  loss  to  the 
Americans  in  one  way,  it  was  a  great  gain  in 
another.  It  gave  them  confidence  in  themselves, 
and  showed  them  that  the  king's  troops  were  not 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.  215 

so  much  to  be  feared  after  all.  They  also  learned 
that  the  English  were  determined  to  oppose  them ; 
and  they  found  out  for  sure  that  if  they  would 
regain  the  liberties  which  had  been  taken  from 
them,  they  must  fight. 

When  Washington  first  heard  of  the  battle,  he 
only  asked,  "  Did  our  men  stand  fire?  "  Being  told 
that  they  did,  and  that  they  waited  till  the  enemy 
was  only  eight  rods  off,  lie  said,  "  The  liberties  of 
the  country  aro  safe  !  " 

WILL.  —  I  should  think  the  battle  would  have 
taught  the  Americans  to  be  better  prepared  for  war. 

MOTHER.  —  Congress  took  the  matter  in  hand, 
and  voted  that  a  larger  army  should  be  raised,  con- 
sisting of  men  from  all  the  colonies.  Washington 
was  chosen  commander-in-chief. 

WILL. —  That  means,  I  suppose,  he  was  put  at 
the  head  of  the  army. 

MOTHER.  —  He  left  Virginia,  and  arrived  at  Cam- 
bridge, near  Boston,  in  July,  1775,  and  was  met 
everywhere  with  cheers  of  welcome.  Soon  after 
his  arrival,  Washington,  standing  under  a  large  elrn- 
tree  at  Cambridge,  in  the  name  of  the  thirteen  col- 
onies took  command  of  the  army.  He  was  then 
forty-three  years  old,  tall,  broad-chested,  and  fine- 
looking.  He  was  a  commander  that  any  army  in 
the  world  might  well  be  proud  of. 


216  THE  STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  He  must  have  thought  he  had  come  to 
a  queer-looking  set,  if  they  didn't  look  any  better 
than  they  did  at  Concord  or  Bunker  Hill. 

MOTHER.  —  Few  of  the  seventeen  thousand  men 
whom  Washington  found  waiting  for  him  had  any 
uniform.  They  had  come  in  their  old  coats  or  in 
their  shirt-sleeves.  Their  muskets  were  mostly 
such  as  they  had  used  in  shooting  game  around 
their  homes;  hardly  two  were  alike.  But  Wash- 
ington thought  of  something  more  than  outward 
appearances.  He  looked  into  the  faces  of  these 
rugged  men,  and  read  there  a  daring  and  determi- 
nation which  gave  him  hope  and  courage. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  try  to  bring  the 
army  into  habits  of  neatness  and  regularity.  The 
men  had  no  idea  of  military  discipline,  and  came  and 
went  as  they  chose.  Their  friends  from  the  country 
were  constantly  visiting  them,  sometimes  to  bring 
clothing  and  eatables,  oftener  from  curiosity.  Wash- 
ington at  once  set  the  men  to  work.  At  first  this 
was  difficult,  and  many  of  the  men  complained  at 
the  new  order  of  things;  but  their  commander's 
kindness  of  heart  soon  made  him  loved  by  all. 

Washington's  greatest  cause  of  anxiety  was  that 
they  had  so  little  ammunition.  He  at  once  wrote  to 
Congress :  "  Our  scarcity  of  powder  is  much  more 
alarming  than  I  had  the  faintest  idea  of." 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR.  217 

LIZZIE.  —  They  couldn't  fight  any  battles  right 
away,  then  —  could  they  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No.  Washington  knew  of  the  suffer- 
ing of  many  patriots  in  Boston.  Between  six  and 
seven  thousand  people  were  shut  up  there  by  the 
English  troops.  They  had  little  to  eat,  and  could 
get  no  word  to  or  from  their  friends  outside.  Wash- 
ington's plan  was  to  drive  the  English  out  of  Boston, 
and  relieve  these  suffering  ones.  Scarcity  of  powder 
forced  him  to  remain  quiet  many  months ;  but  dur- 
ing the  next  year  the  army  was  sufficiently  supplied 
with  ammunition  to  make  him  feel  that  he  might 
venture  an  attack  on  Boston. 

So,  in  March,  1776- 

WILL.  —  That  was  nine  months  after  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  - 

MOTHER.  —  Washington  formed  a  plan  for  getting 
his  troops  on  to  Dorchester  Heights,  which  you  re- 
member is  a  line  of  hills  on  the  south  of  Boston. 

WILL.  —  Wasn't  General  Gage  on  the  lookout  for 
this? 

MOTHER,  —  General  Gage  had  been  recalled  to 
England  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill;  and  Gen- 
eral Howe  was  in  his  place.  Washington  wished 
to  get  on  to  the  heights  without  General  Howe's 
knowing  it.  In  order  to  do  this,  he  ordered  can- 
nons to  be  fired  into  the  town  from  the  hills  around. 


218  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  How  the  Boston  people  must  have  felt 
to  see  the  cannon-balls  coming ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  at  once  commenced  firing 
in  return,  so  that  for  two  or  three  days  there  was 
a  great  noise. 

WILL.  —  That  would  give  the  Americans  a  good 
chance  to  move  without  being  seen,  because  the 
smoke  from  the  cannons  would  make  the  air  so 
thick. 

MOTHER.  —  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  March, 
the  British  saw  with  astonishment  the  forts  which 
had  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic  on  Dorchester  Heights. 
General  Howe  knew  that  he  must  then  do  one  of 
two  things  —  drive  the  American  farmers  from  the 
heights,  or  leave  the  town. 

"  If  they  stay  there,  I  cannot  keep  a  ship  in  the 
harbor,"  said  he. 

Finally,  he  concluded  to  make  an  attack  on  the 
heights.  But  his  men  looked  pale  and  uneasy. 

WILL.  —  They  remembered  Bunker  Hill,  I  guess. 

MOTHER.  —  They  wished  Boston  and  all  New  Eng- 
land at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  themselves  back 
in  England.  When  the  troops  on  Dorchester  Heights 
saw  the  English  get  into  boats  and  come  to  attack 
thorn,  their  hearts  kindled  with  joy,  for  they  felt 
sure  they  should  be  victorious. 

By   Washington's   orders  they  had  collected  on 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.  219 

top  of  the  heights  a  large  number  of  barrels  filled 
with  earth  and  stones.  These  were  hidden  from 
view  by  quantities  of  hay.  The  hills  were  steep 
and  bare,  and  these  heavy  barrels  were  to  be  rolled 
down  on  the  enemy,  in  case  they  tried  to  scale  the 
heights.  But  the  farmer-soldiers  were  disappointed. 
A  violent  rain-storm  arose,  which  threw  the  line  of 
boats  into  great  disorder,  and  spoiled  the  ammuni- 
tion of  the  English,  so  that  they  were  compelled  to 
give  up  all  idea  of  making  an  attack.  Howe  then 
decided  to  leave  Boston  at  once. 

Washington  sent  word  that  he  would  not  trouble 
the  departing  troops  if  they  would  leave  the  town 
without  injuring  it. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  suppose  he  was  afraid  they  might 
bum  it,  as  they  did  Charlestown. 

MOTHER. —  General  Howe  consented  to  this  ar- 
rangement, and  set  out  with  his  army  for  Hal- 
ifax. As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  Washington 
and  his  troops  entered  Boston,  amid  the  shouts  and 
cheers  of  the  people.  Every  heart  was  bounding 
with  joy  and  thankfulness  toward  the  great  com- 
mander. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  hope  the  red-coats  stayed  away  now, 
and  didn't  trouble  the  colonists  any  more. 

MOTHER.  —  On  the  contrary,  when  the  king  heard 
of  the  disgrace  of  his  troops,  he  said  the  colonists 


220  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

must  be  whipped  at  any  cost.  And  he  sent  more 
troops  to  America. 

Washington  felt  sure  that  the  English  would  plan 
another  attack  soon.  So,  fearing  that  General  Howe, 
on  leaving  Boston,  might  steer  for  New  York,  he 
sent  a  body  of  troops  under  General  Putnam  to 
protect  that  place ;  and  soon  he  himself  followed 
with  the  rest  of  his  army. 

We  must  leave  Washington  now  for  a  while,  and 
see  what  Congress  is  doing ;  for,  though  Washing- 
ton was  at  the  head  of  the  army,  he  had  to  depend 
much  on  Congress  for  advice  and  help. 

I  wish  I  had  time  to  tell  you  about  all  the  great 
and  good  men  there  were  in  Congress  at  that  time. 
I  suppose  there  was  not  a  man  who  went  there  for 
his  own  gain  or  pleasure.  They  said,  — 

"  When  the  war  began,  we  hoped  it  would  soon 
be  over,  for  we  supposed  that  England  would  decide 
to  treat  us  well.  We  were  proud  to  feel  that  we 
belonged  to  Great  Britain,  whose  government  is  the 
best  in  the  world.  How  glad  we  should  have  been 
to  love,  honor,  and  serve  her  always.  But  the  king 
himself  has  hindered  us  from  doing  this.  Instead 
of  helping  us  to  be  prosperous  and  happy,  he  has 
tried  to  make  us  slaves ! 

"There  is  only  one  thing  left  for  us  to  do — say 
that  we  no  longer  belong  to  England,  that  we  are 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR.  221 

now/ree  states,  and  that  we  will  make  our  own  laws, 
and  take  care  of  ourselves,  and  let  George  III.  help 
himself  if  he  can." 

This  was  a  very  daring  thing  to  do ;  but  the  best 
and  wisest  men  in  the  country  thought  it  the  only 
right  course  to  take. 

One  of  the  leading  men  of  Congress  —  Thomas 
Jefferson  of  Virginia  —  put  something  like  these 
thoughts  on  paper.  Five  men,  one  of  whom  was 
Benjamin  Franklin,  were  chosen  to  look  over  each 
line,  and  see  if  it  could  be  made  better.  This  paper 
was  adopted  by  Congress  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1776,  and  was  called  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDE- 
PENDENCE. 

LIZZIE.  —  Now  I  know  why  the  Fourth  of  July  is 
such  a  great  day.  It  was  Our  Country's  Birthday. 
Did  everybody  celebrate  the  first  Fourth  of  July? 

MOTHER.  —  There  was  great  rejoicing  in  all  the 
colonies  as  soon  as  they  knew  what  had  been  done. 
The  army  around  New  York  was  called  together  by 
the  beating  of  drums,  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  soldiers  were 
wild  with  enthusiasm. 

WILL.  —  They  didn't  know  before  exactly  what 
they  were  fighting  for.  Now  they  knew  the  war 
wouldn't  be  finished  till  George  III.  gave  up  that 
they  were  free. 


222  THE   STOKY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

LIZZIE.  —  But  I  thought  they  were  free.  They 
called  themselves  so. 

WILL.  —  It  was  one  thing  to  say  America  was 
free,  and  another  thing  to  make  it  so. 

MOTHER.  —  About  this  time  Congress  took  another 
important  step.  It  sent  three  men,  one  of  whom 
was  Franklin,  to  France,  to  see  if  the  French  would 
treat  America  as  a  free  nation. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  believe  they  would. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  not? 

WILL. — Because,  if  they  took  sides  with  America, 
England  would  go  to  war  against  them  again. 

MOTHER.  —  That  is  one  reason  why  the  French 
king  was  not  yet  ready  to  call  America  a  free 
country.  But  the  French  people  all  hoped  England 
would  lose  the  colonies,  and  they  secretly  sent  am- 
munition to  help  our  army.  Many  French  soldiers 
were  sent  over  too.  A  young  nobleman  of  twenty, 
named  Lafayette,  felt  so  much  sympathy  for  the 
Americans  that  he  fitted  out  a  vessel  at  his  own 
expense,  in  which  he  and  his  companions  crossed 
the  ocean.  He  then  offered  his  services  to  Con- 
gress as  a  common  soldier. 

WILL.  —  Of  course  they  wouldn't  let  him  be  a 
common  soldier. 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  made  a  general,  and  soon 
became  a  great  favorite,  not  only  with  Washington 
but  with  all  who  knew  him. 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR.  223 

Not  long  after  the  declaration  of  independence, 
our  beautiful  flag  was  first  used.  Look  at  the  pic- 
ture and  count  the  stripes  and  stars. 


WILL.  —  There  are  thirteen  stripes. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  thirteen  stars. 

MOTHER.  —  You  can  guess  why  the  number  of 
each  is  just  thirteen. 

LIZZIE.  —  Ah,  I  know  !  Because  there  were  thir- 
teen colonies. 

WILL.  —  They  put  more  stars  on  the  flag  now. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  Our  flag  still  has  thirteen  stripes, 
in  memory  of  the  original  colonies;  but  another  star 
is  added  whenever  a  new  state  comes  into  the 
Union. 


224  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XXIV. 

THE   WAR   GOES   ON. 

MOTHER.  —  You  remember  that  Washington  left 
Boston. 

WILL.  —  He  went  to  New  York,  because  he  was 
afraid  General  Howe  would  serve  that  city  as  he 
did  Boston. 

-MOTHER.  —  Washington  placed  a  large  number  of 
his  troops  on  Long  Island,  opposite  New  York,  and 
the  rest  were  in  New  York  itself. 

Several  more  regiments  of  British  troops  were 
sent  over ;  so  that  there  were  now  twenty  thousand 
red-coats  in  America,  besides  a  large  fleet  of  war- 
vessels. 

General  Howe  attacked  the  army  on  Long  Island, 
and  defeated  it.  The  Americans  lost  five  times  as 
many  men  as  the  English  did. 

After  this  Washington,  on  a  dark  and  foggy  night, 
withdrew  his  troops  to  some  heights  north  of  New 
York,  called  Harlem  Heights.  Before  long  he  was 
driven  from  there,  and  met  the  English  in  battle  at 
White  Plains,  neither  side  gaining  a  victory.  Then, 
learning  that  the  English  were  intending  to  go  into 


THE   WAE   GOES   ON.  225 

New  Jersey,  he  crossed  over  into  that  state  with 
most  of  his  troops. 

Not  long  afterwards,  he  was  again  beaten  by  the 
enemy. 

LIZZIE.  —  What !  good,  brave  Washington  so  often 
beaten  !  I  cannot  understand  it. 

WILL.  —  I  do.  What  else  could  be  expected, 
when  the  British  had  more  men,  more  guns,  and 
more  powder? 

MOTHER.  —  During  the  next  few  weeks,  Washing- 
ton was  driven  farther  and  farther  south,  till  he 
reached  Trenton.  There  he  crossed  the  Delaware 
to  the  Pennsylvania  side. 

WILL.  —  The  country  couldn't  have  felt  much 
encouraged,  to  have  the  army  running  away  so  from 
the  red-coats. 

MOTHER.  —  People  were  much  disheartened,  and 
Washington  had  great  cause  for  anxiety.  His  sol- 
diers were  leaving  him  by  hundreds.  And  besides, 
many  leading  men  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania 
were  going  over  to  the  English.  But,  whatever 
Washington  felt,  he  showed  no  fear  or  lack  of  hope. 
He  knew,  however,  that  some  daring  attack  must 
soon  be  made. 

Across  the  river  in  Trenton  there  were  about  a 
thousand  Hessians  — 

WILL.  —  Hessians —  what  were  those  ? 
15 


226 


THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


Mo  I  HER.  —  They  were  troops  that  England  had 
hired  from  Germany.  Washington  felt  sure  that  on 
Christmas  day  they  would  be  having  a  grand  cele- 
bration, so  that  they  would  not  watch  his  move- 
ments. Therefore  the  night  of  the  25th  of  Decem- 


"Washington  crossing  the  Delaware. 

ber,  1776,  would  be  a  good  time  for  him  to  recross 
the  Delaware. 

It  was  bitter  cold.  The  river  was  rapidly  freez- 
ing. The  current,  which  at  that  point  was  very 
swift,  hurled  along  masses  of  ice.  The  wind  blew 
fiercely.  Some  of  Washington's  officers  would  not 


THE   WAR   GOES   ON.  227 

join  him,  as  they  thought  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  reach  the  other  side. 

It  was  twilight  when  the  commander  and  his 
troops  reached  the  river's  edge.  Only  a  part  could 
cross  at  a  time ;  and  the  poor,  half-fed,  half-clothed 
men  that  lingered  on  the  banks  shivered  in  the 
December  cold.  At  eleven,  a  blinding  snow-storm 
set  in.  Would  the  little  army  ever  reach  Trenton  ? 

But  Washington  had  inspired  them  with  the  sen- 
timent, Liberty  or  death  !  and  they  pushed  on.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Americans  were 
all  on  the  Jersey  side.  In  an  hour  more  they  started 
on  their  silent  march.  It  was  nine  miles  to  Trenton, 
arid  there  were  steep  hills  to  climb.  At  daybreak 
they  reached  the  little  town.  The  Hessinns  slept 
late,  for  they  had  not  recovered  from  the  revelries 
of  the  day  before.  Fighting  for  the  English,  they 
thought,  was  not  an  unpleasant  matter  after  all; 
they  had  gay  times,  and  the  fare  was  good. 

But  suddenly  the  Hessians  were  awakened  by  the 
beat  of  drums,  and  the  shouts  of  the  officers,  "  The 
Americans  are  upon  us  !  " 

The  half-drunken  Hessian  commander  tried  to 
rally  his  men  and  bring  them  into  order.  Then 
they  set  out  to  make  a  retreat.  But  it  was  too 
late.  The  Americans  surrounded  them.  The  Hes- 
sian commander  and  forty  of  his  men  were  killed. 


228  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

The  rest  were  in  terror.  What  could  they  do  ? 
Where  should  they  go? 

They  felt  their  helplessness ;  and  they  sent  word 
to  Washington  that  they  would  surrender.  A  thou- 
sand Hessians,  with  their  guns  and  cannon,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Americans,  who  had  lost  only  four 
men. 

At  this  good  news,  Washington,  whose  strong  will 
had  been  strained  for  seventeen  hours,  gave  way 
for  the  moment  to  his  feelings.  With  clasped  hands 
and  glistening  eyes,  he  looked  up  to  Heaven  in 
thankfulness. 

WILL.  —  They  caught  the  Hessians ;  but  did  they 
get  back  safe  to  the  other  side  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes,  they  crossed  immediately  ;  for 
Washington  felt  sure  that  the  English  remaining  in 
New  Jersey  would  attack  him  when  they  heard  the 
news;  and  he  was  right. 

A  large  number  of  the  regulars  under  Cornvvallis 
marched  to  Trenton. 

"  It  will  be  an  easy  thing,"  said  the  English  gen- 
eral, "  to  surround  Washington's  army.  We  will 
make  an  attack  in  the  morning." 

But  when  morning  came,  the  American  troops 
were  gone,  no  one  knew  where ;  and  the  next  thing 
Cornwallis  heard  was  that  Washington  had  at- 
tacked Princeton,  had  been  victorious,  and  that  the 


THE  WAR  GOES   ON.  229 

English  had  lost  four  times  as  many  men  as  the 
Americans. 

The  successes  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  were 
very  cheering  to  the  people  everywhere,  and  the 
soldiers  became  more  hopeful. 

After  the  battles  we  have  spoken  of,  Washington 
did  not  make  any  more  attacks  for  several  months  I 
but  stationed  his  army  so  that  they  could  watch  the 
English. 

WILL. —  And  I  suppose  the  English  generals  were 
planning  how  they  could  pay  him  off  for  what  they 
had  lost. 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  had  already  aimed  at 
Boston  and  New  York.  Can  you  not  guess  whal 
other  large  city  they  wanted? 

LIZZIE.  —  It  must  have  been  Philadelphia. 

WILL.  —  Then  Washington  was  determined  they 
shouldn't  get  it. 

MOTHER.  —  The  armies  met  on  the  Brandy  wine, 
a  little  river  flowing  into  the  Delaware  south  of 
Philadelphia.  Unfortunately  the  Americans  were 
beaten  ;  so  that  General  Howe  and  his  large  army 
took  possession  of  Philadelphia. 

LIZZIE.  —  Too  bad  ! 

MOTHER.  —  What  made  it  more  trying  was  that 
while  the  king's  troops  were  in  such  comfortable 
quarters,  enjoying  even  luxuries,  our  soldiers  were 
suffering  the  greatest  hardships. 


230  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  Where  were  they  ? 

MOTHER.  —  At  Valley  Forge,  about  twenty  miles 
from  Philadelphia.  Washington  chose  that  place 
for  his  arm}-  to  stay  in  during  the  winter,  because 
he  thought  it  could  be  easily  defended  in  case  of  an 
attack,  and  because  he  could  watch  the  movements 
of  the  enemy. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  did  the  soldiers  suffer? 

MOTHER.  —  They  had  so  few  of  the  necessaries  of 
life.  Rough  huts  which  they  made  themselves  were 
all  that  protected  them  from  the  cold  winter  winds. 

WILL.  —  Well,  huts  were  all  the  Indians  had  to 
live  in. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Indians  had  plenty  of  blankets 
made  of  warm  furs.  These  poor  soldiers  had  no 
blankets.  Their  clothing  was  ragged  and  thin. 
They  had  no  shoes ;  so  that  their  marches  over  the 
ice  and  frozen  ground  could  be  traced  by  the 
bloody  tracks  of  their  naked  feet.  Many  a  night 
the  groups  of  soldiers  could  be  seen  sitting  around 
their  wood  fires  to  keep  warm,  not  daring  to  go  to 
sleep  for  fear  the  intense  cold  might  so  benumb 
them  that  they  would  never  wake. 

Think  of  lying  on  the  frosty  ground  without  even 
a  blanket  to  cover  one !  Even  a  heap  of  straw 
would  have  been  a  luxury.  They  often  went  with- 
out food ;  and  what  they  had  was  of  the  poorest 
kind. 


THE   WAR   GOES    ON.  231 

Yet  the  soldiers  did  not  complain.  They  all  loved 
Washington  ;  and  they  knew  he  would  have  helped 
them  to  better  fare  had  it  been  in  his  power.  Per- 
haps he  suffered  more  than  any  one  else ;  for  his 
heart  was  burdened  with  the  needs  of  all.  But  the 
keenest  pain  to  Washington  was  to  feel  that  the 
people  were  dissatisfied  because  he  was  not  making 
any  attack  on  the  English.  The  people  in  Pennsyl- 
vania particularly  kept  sending  petitions  to  Congress 
to  have  the  enemy  driven  out  of  Philadelphia. 

WILL.  —  I  can't  blame  them  for  wanting  to  get 
rid  of  the  red-coats ;  but  they  might  have  known 
that  Washington  couldn't  do  much  fighting  when 
his  men  were  half  frozen  and  half  starved. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  see  how  the  country  could  get 
free  if  the  army  was  so  badly  off. 

MOTHER.  —  Fortunately,  not  all  the  army  was  at 
Valley  Forge.  Washington  had  sent  a  large  portion 
of  his  men  to  the  far  north. 


232  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XXV. 

THE    AMERICAN   CAUSE   MORE   HOPEFUL. 

ENGLAND  had  made  a  plan  which,  if  it  had  been 
successful,  would  have  hurt  the  American  cause  very 
much  Before  I  tell  you  about  it,  look  at  your  maps 
and  find  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Champlain. 

WILL.  —  Lake  Champlain  empties  into  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

MOTHER.  —  Now  tell  me  what  fort  is  near  the 
head  of  the  lake. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see — Fort  Ticonderoga. 

WILL.  —  We  ought  to  remember  that,  because  it 
was  one  of  the  famous  forts  during  the  French  and 
Indian  war. 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  had  said,  "  It  would  be  a 
great  thing  if  we  could  manage  to  cut  off  New 
England  from  the  rest  of  the  colonies !  In  that 
case  they  could  not  hear  from  Congress,  and  they 
could  not  get  any  troops  from  the  south.  There 
would  be  nothing  for  them  to  do  but  to  surrender." 

WILL.  —  I  tell  you,  the  Yankees  wouldn't  do 
that! 

MOTHER.  —  In  order  to  carry  out  this  plan,  Gen- 


THE   AMERICAN   CAUSE   MORE   HOPEFUL.  233 

eral  Burgoyne  was  sent  up  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
eight  thousand  regular  troops,  besides  Canadians 
and  Indians.  He  went  up  to  Lake  Champlain. 

WILL.  —  And  of  course  took  Fort  Ticonderoga. 

MOTHER.  —  From  there  he  was  to  march  to  the 
Hudson,  and  so  push  on  to  New  York. 

WILL.  —  I  see.  If  he  could  do  that,  New  Eng- 
land would  be  cut  off. 

MOTHER.  —  The  first  thing  he  did  after  taking 
Fort  Ticonderoga  was  to  spy  out  what  military 
stores  the  Americans  had  collected  in  that  region. 
There  was  a  large  supply  of  ammunition  at  Ben- 
nington,  Vermont,  which  Burgoyne  was  determined 
to  destroy. 

When  the  people  of  Vermont  found  this  out,  they 
sent  a  letter  to  the  New  Hampshire  Assembly,  beg- 
ging for  help.  And  the  help  was  not  long  in 
coming.  Men  came  flocking  from  all  directions  to 
save  Bennington,  as  they  had  done  to  protect 
Concord. 

Luckily  there  was  an  American  officer  near  at 
the  time,  who  had  fought  bravely  at  Bunker  Hill, 
and  had  been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fights  at  Trenton 
and  Princeton.  His  name  was  Colonel  Stark.  The 
English  reached  Bennington,  sure  of  victory,  after 
which  they  were  going  to  inarch  into  Connecticut 
and  destroy  more  ammunition. 


234  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Colonel  Stark  rallied  about  him  the  brave  men 
who  had  left  their  farms  at  a  moment's  warning, 
bringing  nothing  with  them  but  their  muskets.  As 
the  British  approached  for  the  attack,  he  called 
out, — 

"  There  are  the  red-coats !  We  must  conquer 
them,  or  Molly  Stark  is  a  widow  ! " 

The  New  Englanders  had  a  glorious  victory. 
They  lost  less  than  one  hundred  men,  while  the 
enemy  lost  eight  hundred. 

WILL.  —  I  guess  Bennington  kept  its  ammunition. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  and  there  was  added  to  it  a 
large  quantity  of  cannon,  guns,  and  powder  taken 
from  the  English. 

This  battle  crippled  General  Burgoyne  very 
much;  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  wait  for  more 
ammunition  before  he  tried  again  to  capture  mili- 
tary stores. 

WILL.  —  Pity  about  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  whole  country  was  alive  with 
excitement.  Washington  sent  many  of  his  best 
troops,  to  be  ready  for  another  battle,  which  he 
knew  must  soon  come.  Congress  rallied  men  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  to  join  the  northern  wing 
of.  the  army  ;  so  that  a  large  number  gathered  at 
Saratoga,  under  command  of  General  Gates. 

Find  Saratoga  on  the  map. 


THE  AMERICAN  CAUSE  MORE  HOPEFUL.     235 

LIZZIE.  —  Here  it  is  :  in  New  York,  north  of  Al- 
bany, not  far  from  the  Hudson  River. 

MOTHER.  —  The  Americans  made  several  little 
attacks  on  different  parts  of  Burgoyne's  army ;  but 
the  final  battle  came  off  at  Saratoga. 

WILL.  — Which  side  beat? 

MOTHER.  —  Burgoyne  was  completely  routed.  In- 
stead of  pushing  down  to  Albany  and  eating  his 
Christmas  dinner,  as  he  had  boasted  he  would  do, 
he  was  obliged  to  surrender.  This  was  a  terrible 
blow  to  British  power  in  America.  Burgoyne  had 
lost,  through  these  battles,  since  he  first  landed  in 
Canada,  ten  thousand  men,  besides  large  stores  of 
ammunition. 

WILL.  —  Only  think !  ten  thousand  red-coats  lost 
to  England  ! 

LIZZIE.  —  No  ;  they  were  not  all  red-coats.  There 
were  some  Indians  and  Canadians  among  them. 

MOTHER.  —  Many  of  this  number  were  killed, 
many  deserted,  but  several  thousands  became  pris- 
oners in  the  hands  of  the  Yankees. 

LIZZIE.  —  How  the  good  news  must  have  cheered 
Washington ! 

MOTHER.  —  It  had  a  wonderful  effect,  not  only 
giving  hope  to  the  suffering  troops,  but  making  the 
whole  country  rejoice.  It  also  helped  the  American 
cause  in  Europe.  Franklin  had  no  difficulty  now 


236 


THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


in  getting  a  hearing  at  the  French  court ;  and  France 
signed  a  treaty,  promising  help  to  America,  which  it 
now  called  a  free  and  independent  country.  I  doubt 
if  there  was  another 
man  living  who  could 
have  done  the  good 
service  which  Frank- 
lin did  in  this  way. 


Franklin  at  the  French  Court. 


WILL.  —  And  what  did  England  say  about  it  all? 
MOTHER.  —  Parliament  began  to  think  there  was 
some  truth  in  what  Franklin  had  said  —  that  if  the 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.  237 

Americans  once  began  to  fight  for  their  indepen- 
dence, they  would  never  give  up  till  they  were 
free.  The  English  also  thought  it  was  time  to  treat 
the  Americans  a  little  more  civilly. 

WILL.  —  Perhaps  George  III.  didn't  like  the  idea 
of  another  war  with  France  just  then. 

MOTHER.  —  Already  many  of  his  people  were  get- 
ting tired  of  the  war  with  America.  Besides,  the 
other  countries  of  Europe  began  to  favor  American 
freedom. 

WILL.  —  And  the  king  wouldn't  like  to  have  all 
Europe  in  war  against  him. 

MOTHER.  —  For  those  reasons,  the  king  sent  word 
to  the  colonies  that  they  might  have  all  they  had 
asked  for  before  the  war  began. 

WILL.  —  Rather  late  to  answer  their  petitions 
now ! 

MOTHER.  —  So  the  Americans  thought ;  and  they 
sent  word  back  that,  although  in  the  beginning 
they  only  wanted  their  rights  as  English  colonists, 
they  would  now  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of 
their  freedom.  And  so  the  war  went  on. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  should  think  the  Americans  must  have 
felt  very  glad  when  they  heard  that  France  would 
help  them. 

WILL.  —  But  the  English  generals  wouldn't  be 
very  glad ! 


238  THE  STORY   OF   OUR  COUNTRY. 

MOTHER.  —  As  soon  as  General  Howe  heard  that 
war-ships  were  coming  over  from  France,  he  thought 
best  to  leave  Philadelphia,  and  join  his  other  troops 
near  New  York,  expecting  there  might  be  a  battle 
when  the  French  arrived. 

LIZZIE.  ' —  So  if  the  English  did  get  Philadelphia, 
they  had  to  leave  it,  as  they  once  left  Boston. 

WILL.  —  Where  was  Washington  all  this  time  ? 

MOTHER.  —  As  soon  as  he  heard  that  General 
Howe  had  left  Philadelphia,  he  followed  after;  and 
at  Monmontb  Court-House  there  was  a  battle  fought, 
in  which  the  English  lost  many  more  than  the 
Americans.  General  Howe  was  glad,  when  night 
came  on,  to  silently  steal  away  to  New  York. 

Washington  followed  him,  and  stationed  his  troops 
so  that  he  could  watch  the  English  army. 

WILL.  —  And  was  there  fighting  when  the  French 
came? 

MOTHER.  —  There  were  no  large  battles  for  a  long 
time.  During  the  next  year,  the  English  destroyed 
many  small  towns,  which  did  not  help  their  cause 
very  much,  nor  do  any  great  injury  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  English  generals  were  vexed 
because  they  had  lost  so  manjr  men  in  battle,  or 
because  the  war  had  lasted  so  long ;  arid  they  gave 
vent  to  their  feelings  by  constant,  cruelties.  Their 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.  239 

excuse  was,  that  they  expected  in  this  way  to  fright- 
en the  people  into  submission  to  the  king. 

WILL.  —  A  poor  way  to  bring  it  about ! 

MOTHER. — The  English  lost  more  than  they  gained 
in  this  way ;  for  every  new  outrage  which  the 
Americans  heard  of,  only  made  them  more  deter- 
mined to  fight  on  for  their  freedom. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  states  suffered  most  in  this  way  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Towns  were  plundered  and  burned  in 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  New 
Jersey,  and  many  people  put  to  death. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  believe  Washington  would  have 
let  his  men  do  so. 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  much  opposed  to  all  kinds  of 
needless  cruelty,  and  did  everything  in  his  power 
to  make  his  men  kind. 

Once,  when  a  party  of  red-coats  made  a  raid  into 
Connecticut,  General  Putnam  had  a  chance  to  show 
his  valor  and  patriotism.  —  By  the  way,  do  you  re- 
member where  you  first  heard  of  General  Putnam  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  I  do ;  at  Bunker  Hill.  He  was  afraid 
his  men  would  waste  their  powder  by  firing  on  the 
enemy  too  soon.  But  what  were  you  going  to 
tell  us  ? 

MOTHER.  —  When  he  heard  that  the  English  were 
approaching  the  town  of  Greenwich,  and  that  they 
were  destroying  houses  and  mills,  he  gathered  about 


240  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

him  a  few  men  of  the  neighborhood,  determined  to 
do  all  in  his  power  to  save  the  town.  He  had  but 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  while  the  English  had  ten 
times  as  many.  He  had  two  cannons,  which  he 
placed  on  the  top  of  a  steep  hill.  As  soon  as  the 
enemy  came  near  enough,  he  fired  his  cannons. 

WILL.  —  What  could  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  do 
against  fifteen  hundred  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Most  of  the  red-coats  were  on  horse- 
back. When  Putnam  saw  the  English  dragoons 
were  about  to  make  a  charge  on  them,  he  ordered 
his  men  to  flee  into  a  swamp  near  by,  where  horses 
could  not  enter. 

WILL.  —  And  what  did  Putnam  himself  do? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  the  last  one  upon  the  hill. 
Finding  himself  in  great  danger  of  being  overtaken, 
he  struck  his  spurs  into  his  horse,  and  galloped 
down  the  rocky  steep.  The  English  dragoons  dared 
not  follow,  but  they  fired  upon  him,  one  bullet  pass- 
ing through  his  hat. 

He  escaped  to  the  next  town,  where  he  rallied 
more  men.  He  could  not  face  the  enemy  in  open 
battle,  but  he  followed  them  when  they  were  leaving 
the  town,  and  took  fifty  prisoners. 

WILL.  —  Brave  old  Put ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  English  officer,  on  learning  after- 
wards of  the  kind  treatment  these  prisoners  re- 
ceived, wrote  a  letter  of  thanks  to  General  Putnam. 


THE   WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH.  241 


XXVI. 

THE   WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  I  had  been  living  a  hundred  years 
ago,  I  should  rather  have  lived  in  one  of  the  south- 
ern states,  because  the  people  there  didn't  know  as 
much  about  the  war  as  they  did  in  the  north. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  say  that !  I  should  like  to  have 
been  where  I  could  help  drive  the  red-coats  out  of 
the  country. 

MOTHER.  —  Do  not  imagine  that  the  southern 
states  were  free  from  the  horrors  of  war.  During 
the  years  1779  and  1780,  the  people  at  the  south 
had  dreadful  times. 

As  the  English  were  so  unsuccessful  in  getting 
control  of  the  middle  and  northern  states,  they 
determined  to  try  their  luck  in  Georgia. 

WILL.  —  That  was  the  state  farthest  south. 

MOTHER.  —  And  it  was  not  so  strongly  defended 
as  the  others.  Many  of  the  people  in  Georgia  and 
the  two  Carolinas  were  Tories. 

LIZZIE.  —  What  do  you  mean  by  Tories  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  Tories  were  people  sympathizing 
with  the  king. 
16 


242  THE   STORY    OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  Then  they  didn't  believe  in  the  war. 

MOTHER. —  No;  and  General  Clinton  rightly  thought 
that  Georgia  would  be  more  willing  than  New  Eng- 
land to  submit.  Take  your  maps,  and  see  what  city 
you  should  think  the  English  would  take  first. 

WILL.  —  I  suppose  the  largest  city,  Savannah. 

MOTHER.  —  General  Clinton  sent  a  large  body  of 
troops,  under  command  of  one  of  his  colonels,  to 
take  this  place.  The  people  of  Georgia  were  com- 
pletely surprised ;  and  Savannah  fell  at  once  into 
the  hands  of  the  English. 

After  this,  General  Provost  arrived  with  more 
troops,  and  took  command  of  all  the  English  forces. 
Soon  he  had  possession  of  the  whole  state. 

LIZZIE.  —  0  dear  !  Why  didn't  Washington  send 
some  soldiers  down  there  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  few  American  troops  stationed 
there  fought  desperately  before  they  gave  up.  A 
large  body  of  French  soldiers  went  there  too,  to 
help  them.  But  their  general  was  soon  wounded, 
so  that  the  French  were  of  little  use  at  this  time. 

The  English  then  marched  north,  and  captured 
the  largest  city  of  South  Carolina. 

WILL.  —  That  was  Charleston. 

MOTHER.  —  British  troops  were  sent  into  every 
part  of  the  state ;  and  the  people  had  to  do  just 
what  the  invaders  said  they  must,  or  be  punished. 


THE   WAR   AT   THE  SOUTH.  243 

WILL.  —  What  1  Were  there  no  brave  men  there 
to  stand  up  for  their  rights,  and  drive  off  the  cow- 
ards? 

MOTHER. — As  I  told  you,  there  were  many  who 
sympathized  with  the  king  — 

LIZZIE.  —  Yes  —  Tories  ! 

MOTHER.  —  And  these  Tories  said,  "  What  is  the 
use  of  carrying  on  the  war  any  longer?  America 
will  never  be  free.  If  the  colonists  only  do  what 
George  III.  asks,  he  will  treat  them  well.  Besides, 
we  cannot  help  ourselves." 

LIZZIE.  —  I  wish  James  Otis  or  Patrick  Henry  had 
been  there  to  stir  up  the  people. 

WILL.  —  Better  still  if  they  could  have  had  Old 
Put! 

MOTHER.  —  South  Carolina  did  not  submit  to 
British  rule  so  easily  as  Georgia  had  done.  There 
were  many  stanch  patriots  there,  who  would  have 
died  rather  than  give  up  their  liberties.  Be- 
sides, the  English  were  hurting  their  own  cause 
very  much  by  treating  the  people  unkindly.  They 
burned  houses,  destroyed  fields  of  rice  and  to- 
bacco, and  drove  hundreds  of  women  and  chil- 
dren from  their  homes.  These  innocent  victims 
wandered  through  the  swamps  half  clothed  and 
half  starved. 

Besides  this,  the  English  officers  gave  their  men 


244  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

leave  to  steal  everything  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on.  All  this  savage  treatment  worked  well  for  the 
Americans.  Many  Tories  now  turned  patriots.  "  If 
George  III.  allows  his  officers  to  treat  people  in  this 
way,  he  needn't  expect  South  Carolina  to  be  his 
colony  any  longer,"  they  said. 

As  I  told  you,  there  were  fortunately  many  brave 
men  in  the  Carolinas,  who  were  determined  to  resist 
the  oppressions  of  the  British.  One  of  the  most 
famous  of  these  South  Carolina  patriots  was  named 
Marion.  His  father  was  a  Huguenot. 

LIZZIE. —  0,  I  remember  about  the  Huguenots! 
They  came  from  France,  and  settled  in  South  Caro- 
lina. 

MOTHER.  —  Marion  was  a  poor  man.  He  worked 
at  farming  before  the  war.  But  every  one  who 
knew  him  respected  him,  for  he  was  brave,  honest, 
and  kind-hearted.  He  had  a  great  talent  for  drilling 
men  into  soldiers. 

When  he  saw  how  the  English  were  treating  the 
southerners,  he  was  very  indignant,  and  rallied  a 
little  company  of  men  around  him,  who  promised  to 
fight  in  case  of  need.  He  had  one  singular  trait  as 
an  officer:  he  never  compelled  his  men  to  stay  in 
service.  He  used  to  say,  "  If  a  man  doesn't  love 
his  country  well  enough  to  stay,  he  won't  make  a 
good  soldier,  and  I  don't  want  him." 


THE  WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH.  245 

WILL.  —  That  made  his  men  ashamed  to  run 
away. 

MOTHER.  —  He  rarely  had  a  man  desert  him. 
Another  singular  fact  about  Marion  was,  that  he 
had  no  one  place  for  his  little  band  of  heroes  to 
stay  in.  When  they  were  not  engaged  in  fighting, 
they  all  went  home  to  take  care  of  their  farms  and 
their  families. 

WILL.  —  How  did  they  know  when  they  were 
wanted  ?  , 

MOTHER.  —  Marion  had  a  secret  signal  which  his 
men  all  understood ;  and  when  they  heard  the  signal 
they  would  leave  everything  and  hasten  to  their 
leader. 

He  never  had  many  men  under  his  command  at  a 
time ;  but  he  was  a  great  torment  to  the  English. 
Having  no  ammunition,  and  the  colony  being  too 
poor  to  give  him  any,  he  depended  on  what  he  got 
from  the  enemy.  Knowing  every  swamp  and  every 
forest  in  South  Carolina,  Marion  and  his  men  would 
secrete  themselves  near  the  English,  and  spring  out 
upon  them,  when  they  supposed  he  was  at  the  other 
end  of  the  colony. 

WILL.  —  You  said  the  English  were  scattered  all 
over  the  state.  So  I  suppose  Marion  attacked  small 
parties  of  the  troops,  instead  of  going  into  regular 
battles  with  the  army. 


246  THE   STORY    OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

MOTHER. — That  was  his  constant  plan.  He  finally 
became  such  a  plague  to  the  enemy,  that  they  sent 
out  large  bodies  of  men  to  find  him. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,  they  hunted  him  as  they  would  a 
wild  beast.  Did  they  catch  him  ? 

MOTHER. — Many  a  time  they  would  drive  him  to  a 
forest  or  swamp,  sure  that  they  would  take  him  back 
to  the  camp  a  prisoner ;  but  to  their  astonishment 
he  would  disappear.  So  they  .gave  him  the  name 
o£  the  Swamp  Fox. 

There  was  a  great  difference  between  Marion  and 
the  English  officers.  He  always  treated  his  prison- 
ers well,  while  the  English  would  often  hang  a  dozen 
American  prisoners  without  a  moment's  warning. 

Nothing  made  Marion  so  angry  as  to  find  his  men 
plundering,  or  treating  any  one  unkindly. 

WILL.  —  Then  the  people  must  have  liked  Marion 
best.  He  didn't  have  to  fight  the  English  in  South 
Carolina  without  any  help  —  did  he? 

MOTHER.  —  General  Gates  was  sent  down  with  a 
large  number  of  men.  He  was  much  needed,  for 
Cornwallis  himself  was  at  the  head  of  the  British 
forces  in  the  south. 

LIZZIE. — Then  I  guess  something  was  done  for  the 
Americans,  for  Gates  was  the  general  that  gained 
such  a  victory  at  Saratoga,  when  Burgoyne  had  to 
give  up. 


THE   WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH.  247 

MOTHER.  —  Every  one  expected  this ;  but  people 
were  disappointed.  General  Gates  fought  the 
enerny  several  times,  but  always  met  with  great 
loss.  So  he  was  finally  called  back,  and  General 
Greene  was  sent  down. 

WILL.  —  You  haven't  told  us  much  about  him. 

MOTHER.  —  General  Greene  was  second  only  to 
Washington.  Indeed,  Washington  himself  had  the 
greatest  confidence  in  him,  saying  that  he  was 
"  wise,  brave,  and  cool/'  three  very  important  traits 
in  a  commander. 

General  Greene  was  much  shocked  at  the  brutal 
manner  in  which  Cornwallis  treated  his  prisoners 
and  those  people  of  South  Carolina  who  showed  a 
love  of  America.  But  from  the  first,  he  gave  orders 
that  his  men  should  treat  all  kindly. 

LIZZIE. — The  southerners  must  have  hated  Corn- 
wallis. 

MOTHER.  —  The  friends  of  George  III.  were  de- 
creasing rapidly ;  and  Cornwallis  saw  that  the  Eng- 
lish power  in  South  Carolina  was  daily  growing 
weaker. 

WILL.  —  Wasn't  General  Greene  glad  to  have  the 
help  of  Marion? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes.  For  some  reason,  Gates  had 
taken  but  little  notice  of  him  ;  but  General  Greene 
knew  his  worth,  and  at  once  sent  word  to  him  that 


THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

he  hoped  he  would  keep  on  serving  his  country ; 
and  he  sent  Marion  a  large  number  of  soldiers. 

General  Greene  divided  his  army  into  two  parts, 
sending  the  larger  portion  to  the  western  part  of 
the  state.  His  plan  was  to  drive  the  English  to- 
wards the  coast.  Soon  there  was  a  large  battle  at 
a  place  called  Cowpens,  in  which  the  Americans  lost 
but  a  few  men,  while  the  enemy  lost  hundreds, 
besides  a  great  deal  of  ammunition. 

There  were  several  battles  during  the  next  year, 
in  which  the  English  were  victorious ;  but  they 
often  lost  so  much,  in  men  and  stores,  that  they 
thought  best  to  retreat. 

At  one  time  the  Americans  under  General  Greene 
retreated,  and  were  chased  by  Cornwallis  across 
North  Carolina  into  Virginia. 

WILL.  —  0,  why  didn't  General  Greene  make  a 
stand  and  face  the  English  ? 

MOTHER.  —  For  the  same  reason  that  many  battles 
were  lost  by  the  Americans :  most  of  them  were 
without  shoes,  and  were  poorly  clothed.  Besides 
this,  they  did  not  have  half  enough  to  eat. 

You  would  think  that  Cornwallis,  with  his  finely 
drilled  troops,  could  easily  overtake  our  barefooted, 
half-starved  soldiers;  but  it  was  singular  that  twice, 
when  the  red-coats  were  about  to  attack  the  rear 
of  the  army,  the  Americans  escaped  by  crossing 


THE   WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH.  249 

rivers,  and  when  they  were  safely  on  the  other  side, 
a  sudden  rise  of  the  streams  delayed  Cornwallis, 
so  that  when  he  got  across,  the  Americans  were 
miles  away. 

WILL.  —  Good!  Wasn't  that  strange — that  the 
water  should  rush  to  the  help  of  the  Americans  ? 

MOTHER.  —  Cornwallis  finally  gave  up  the  chase  ; 
and  Greene,  going  around  the  English  army,  re- 
turned into  North  Carolina.  The  two  armies  had  a 
battle  here,  in  which  the  English  were  much  crip- 
pled. After  this,  Greene  went  again  into  South 
Carolina ;  and  lay  the  help  of  Marion  and  other  brave 
officers  he  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy  back 
from  the  interior ;  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  year 
all  the  places  held  by  Cornwallis  in  the  south  were 
Charleston  and  Savannah. 

WILL.  —  I  know  what  made  the  Americans  beat 
so  often :  it  was  because  they  loved  their  country, 
and  because  they  had  pluck.  That's  what  did  it. 

MOTHER.  —  You  remind  me  of  a  story  about  Ma- 
rion, which  I  will  tell  before  we  close  our  talk  about 
the  war  in  the  south. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  good  !     Do  tell  us  ! 

MOTHER.  —  One  day,  after  a  severe  battle,  an  Eng- 
lish officer  brought  into  Marion's  camp  a  white  fl'-ig, 
or  flag  of  truce,  to  ask  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
After  the  business  was  over,  the  officer  was  about 


250  THE   STORY    OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 

to  leave,  when  Marion  urged  him  to  remain  and 
dine.  The  officer,  either  too  polite  or  too  curious 
to  refuse,  accepted  the  invitation. 

He  looked  around  and  saw  a  fire,  but  no  other 
signs  of  a  repast,  and  was  greatly  surprised  when  he 
heard  Marion  tell  one  of  his  men  to  bring  in  the  din- 
ner. Ho  was  still  more  astonished  when  he  found 
that  their  only  plates  were  clean  pieces  of  bark,  and 
all  they  had  to  eat  was  a  quantity  of  sweet  potatoes 
that  had  been  nicely  baked  in  the  glowing  ashes  of 
the  fire. 

"  Excuse  me,  General  Marion,"  said  the  English 
officer ;  "  but  is  this  your  usual  fare  ?  " 

"  Well,  no,  sir,"  answered  Marion.  "  I  am  glad 
to  say,  since  you  are  here  to1  share  my  dinner,  that 
it  is  better  than  usual." 

"  What !  "  exclaimed  the  English  officer,  as  he 
looked  about  upon  the  sturdy  men  in  Marion's  camp, 
"  do  you  mean  to  say  that  your  troops  are  willing  to 
put  up  with  such  rations  ?  You  must  have  to  pay 
them  well." 

"  Sir,"  exclaimed  Marion  in  return,  "  do  you  sup- 
pose my  men  stay  by  me  for  wages  merely,  or  for 
what  they  get  to  eat?  We  are  fighting  for  our 
country,  for  freedom ;  and  we  shall  keep  on  fighting 
as  long  as  body  and  soul  hold  together." 

The  English  officer  could  say  no  more.     He  was 


THE  WAR   AT   THE   SOUTH.  251 

so  impressed  by  what  he  had  seen  and  heard,  that 
he  gave  up  his  commission,  and  went  home  to  Eng- 
land. "  Such  men  deserve  their  freedom,"  said 
he ;  "  and  I'll  not  be  one  to  hinder  them  from  get- 
ting it." 


252  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 


XXVII. 
A    TRAITOR. 

MOTHER.  —  To-night  I  will  tell  you  about  a  man 
whose  name  even  is  like  a  blot  on  my  story  —  Ben- 
edict Arnold. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  he  was  a  bad  man,  I  hope  he  wasn't 
an  American. 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  one  of  those  who  hastened  to 
join  the  army  at  Cambridge,  after  the  battles  of 
Lexington  and  Concord. 

He  had  received  a  good  education,  and  was  very 
talented.  This  brought  him  into  notice,  and  he  soon 
received  an  important  place  in  the  army.  He 
showed  so  much  courage  and  coolness  in  time  of 
danger,  and  understood  so  well  the  managing  of  an 
army,  that  Washington  looked  upon  him  as  one  of 
his  best  officers.  But  he  was  never  a  favorite.  He 
was  selfish  and  fond  of  showing  his  power.  His 
greatest  fault  was  his  love  of  money.  To  get  that, 
he  often  did  what  any  high-minded  man  would 
scorn  to  do.  He  was  generally  in  debt.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  he  was  so  able  a  man  that  finally 
he  became  a  general. 


A   TEAITOR.  253 

At  the  time  of  Burgoyne's  surrender,  Arnold 
received  a  severe  wound,  which  unfitted  him  for 
active  service  for  some  time.  And  as  Washington 
thought  highly  of  his  skill  as  an  officer,  he  peti- 
tioned Congress  to  give  him  command  of  the  forces 
in  Philadelphia,  after  the  English  left  it.  But  his 
career  in  that  place  was  not  pleasing  to  the  patriots. 
He  made  intimate  acquaintances  with  the  enemies 
of  his  country.  He  married  the  daughter  of  a  lead- 
ing Tory — a  beautiful  and  accomplished  young  Ixdy. 

WILL.  —  I  don't  know  that  he  ought  to  be  blamed 
for  that. 

MOTHER.  —  What  was  most  disliked  in  him  there, 
was  his  extravagant  way  of  living. 

WILL.  —  Of  course  that  showed  he  wasn't  a  true 
patriot. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  he  had  been,  he  would  have  helped 
the  poor  soldiers,  instead  of  spending  so  much  on 
himself. 

MOTHER.  —  Every  one  saw  that  he  spent  more 
than  his  income.  He  rode  in  an  elegant  coach 
drawn  by  four  horses,  and  kept  a  great  many  ser- 
vants. He  gave  very  costly  parties. 

Finally  people  became  so  vexed,  that  the  authori- 
ties of  Philadelphia  sent  a  complaint  to  Congress, 
saying  they  felt  sure  that  he  was  spending  the  pub- 
lic money  for  his  own  use. 


254  THE  STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Congress  appointed  a  number  of  army  officers  to 
look  into  his  affairs.  His  money  matters  showed 
either  wrong  management  or  dishonesty,  and  Arnold 
was  reprimanded. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by  that. 

MOTHER.  —  Congress  told  him  he  must  behave 
himself  or  lose  his  place.  This  made  Arnold  very 
angry.  He  said  to  himself,  l<  Here  I  have  been 
working  hard  for  the  country  these  four  years.  I 
have  often  risked  my  life  where  other  officers  dared 
not  go.  And  this  is  the  pay  I  get ! " 

He  was  deeply  in  debt  at  this  time.  He  resolved 
to  make  a  desperate  plunge  to  save  himself,  even 
if  he  ruined  his  country. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  he  wouldn't  do  that ! 

MOTHER.  —  You  have  not  heard  yet  of  West  Point, 
so  I  must  tell  you  it  is  on  the  Hudson,  and  was  then 
considered  one  of  the  most  important  places  in  the 
country. 

WILL.  —  Then  I  suppose  there  was  a  fort  there. 

MOTHER.  —  Yes  ;  and  Washington  caused  it  to  be 
well  supplied  with  cannon  and  ammunition,  so  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  enemy  to  take  it.  Find 
it  on  your  maps,  and  see  if  you  can  tell  why  it  was 
such  an  important  place. 

WILL.  —  If  the  British  had  the  Hudson,  they 
could  cut  off  New  England  from  the  other  states. 


A   TRAITOR.  255 

MOTHER.  —  The  traitor  Arnold  sent  word  to  Gen- 
eral Clinton  that  he  would  give  it  over  to  England. 

LIZZIE.  —  0,  what  could  make  him  so  wicked  ? 

WILL.  —  I  don't  see  how  he  could  bring  this 
about. 

MOTHER.  —  After  leaving  Philadelphia,  he  sent  to 
Washington,  asking  the  command  of  West  Point. 
Washington  gave  him  the  place.  For  eighteen 
months  Arnold  secretly  wrote  letters  to  General 
Clinton.  At  last  the  time  had  come  when  West 
Point  was  to  be  given  to  the  English.  But  Arnold 
must  be  sure  of  his  money.  He  must  get  a  written 
paper,  signed  by  General  Clinton,  promising  to  pay 
over  the  sum  at  a  given  time.  So  he  wrote,  asking 
to  meet  some  English  officer  of  rank,  who  should 
bring  the  important  paper.  In  return  he  would 
give  a  plan  of  West  Point,  telling  how  many  troops 
were  in  it,  and  showing  the  easiest  place  of  attack. 

General  Clinton  chose  young  Major  Andre  for  this 
service.  Andr£  was  a  great  favorite,  kind-hearted, 
accomplished,  brave,  and  handsome.  One  dark  night 
he  and  Arnold,  both  disguised,  met  among  the 
bushes  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  They  ex- 
changed papers,  Andre*  concealing  his  between  his 
stockings  and  the  soles  of  his  feet. 

After  a  long  talk,  morning  began  to  dawn,  and 
Arnold  was  soon  safely  back  at  West  Point.  But 


256  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

Major  Andrd  was  not  so  fortunate.  On  his  way 
to  the  English  camp,  he  was  met  by  three  sturdy 
young  Americans,  who  were  out  watching  the  road 
lest  English  soldiers  should  go  into  the  country  to 
plunder. 

One  of  these  men,  John  Paulding,  pointed  a  mus- 
ket at  Andre",  commanding  him  to  "  halt !  " 

The  three  Americans  were  somewhat  disguised ; 
and  Andre's  heart  rejoiced,  for  he  felt  sure  he  was 
with  English  soldiers.  Forgetting  himself,  he  said, — 

"  I  am  a  British  officer.  Do  not  stop  me,  for  I 
am  on  very  important  business ! " 

As  he  said  this,  he  drew  out  an  elegant  gold 
watch.  This  made  Paulding  feel  sure  that  he  was 
a  British  officer ;  for  gold  watches  were  then  very 
scarce  in  the  colonies.  So  Paulding  said,  — 

"  We  are  Americans,  and  you  are  our  prisoner ! " 

Then  they  searched  him,  and  found  the  important 
papers. 

"  Heavens!"  exclaimed  Paulding,  when  he  glanced 
at  them  ;  "  he  is  a  spy  !  " 

Andre  tried  to  buy  himself  off.  * 

"  Let  me  go,"  he  said,  "  and  I  will  give  you  my 
horse  and  five  hundred  dollars." 

"  If  you  would  give  us  five  thousand  dollars,"  an- 
swered his  captors,  "  we  would  not  let  you  stir  a 
step." 


A    TEAITOK.  257 

And  Andr£  was  soon  within  prison- walls. 

LIZZIE,  —  Poor  Andre  ! 

WILL.  —  Brave,  honest  John  Paulding  saved  his 
country. 

MOTHER.  —  Washington  had  heard  nothing  of  the 
arrest.  On  that  very  day  he  had  sent  word  to  Ar- 
nold that  Lafayette  and  himself  would  be  his  guests 
next  morning. 

Suspecting  nothing,  they  were  escorted  up  the 
Hudson.  As  they  drew  near  the  fort,  Washington 
was  greatly  surprised  that  no  military  salute  was 
fired.  He  was  still  more  astonished  to  be  informed 
on  landing,  that  Arnold  was  away. 

Soon  a  messenger  arrived,  with  the  papers  found 
in  Andrews  stockings.  Washington  looked  them 
over,  and  handed  them  to  Lafayette,  exclaiming,  — 

"  Whom  can  we  trust  now  ?  " 

Instantly  he  sent  out  troops  to  find  Arnold  and 
arrest  him.  But  it  was  too  late ;  he  was  already  in 
the  British  camp. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  Major  Andrd  —  what  became  of  him? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  tried,  found  guilty,  and  con- 
demned to  die. 

When  General  Clinton  heard  of  this,  he  wrote  to 
Washington,  begging  that  his  life  might  be  spared. 
But  Washington  could  not  grant  the  request;  and 
Andre  died  bravely  as  he  had  lived. 
17 


258  THE  STORY  OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

WILL.  —  And  Arnold  —  the  black  traitor? 

MOTHER.  —  He  received  a  part  of  his  money ;  but 
the  English  officers  and  soldiers  all  hated  him. 

After  this  he  led  a  body  of  British  troops  into 
Virginia,  trying  to  subdue  that  colony.  But  he  was 
unsuccessful.  Washington  sent  Lafayette  to  oppose 
him,  and  he  was  soon  driven  out  of  the  state. 

The  longer  Arnold  lived,  the  more  he  was 
shunned;  and  he  died  in  London,  a  despised  man. 


VICTORY   AT   LAST.  259 


XXVIII. 
VICTORY  AT   LAST. 

MOTHER.  —  The  war  had  now  been  going  on  for 
six  years. 

WILL.  —  Then  you  are  going  to  tell  us  about  the 
year  1781. 

MOTHER.  —  Washington  had  had  much  to  discour- 
age him  during  the  year  1780. 

WILL.  —  Arnold  had  done  a.  mean  thing,  to  be 
sure  ;  but  the  English  hadn't  made  much  headway. 

LIZZIE.  —  They  had  been  driven  out  of  North 
Carolina,  and  had  left  New  Jersey. 

WILL.  —  And  they  didn't  hold  any  part  of  the 
southern  states  but  Charleston  arid  Savannah. 

MOTHER. — That  is  true.  But  you  must  remember 
that  during  the  war  business  was  stopped  in  a  great 
measure,  which  made  the  times  harder  every  year. 
As  the  people  were  earning  less  money  than  usual, 
they  couldn't  pay  their  taxes ;  so  that  Congress 
found  it  very  difficult  to  get  money  for  the  soldiers. 
At  first  the  soldiers  didn't  mind  this;  but  after  a 
while  it  became  very  hard  to  bear. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why,    yes ;     because    if    the    soldiers 


260  THE   STORY   OF    OUR   COUNTRY. 

couldn't  have  their  pay,  they  had  nothing  to  send 
home  to  their  families. 

MOTHER.  —  The  fare,  too,  of  the  men  in  the  army 
was  wretchedly  poor.  This  caused  many  to  lose 
their  health.  At  one  time  the  Pennsylvania  soldiers 
mutinied  —  that  is,  they  declared  they  would  desert 
unless  they  could  have  better  fare. 

This  troubled  Washington  more  than  anything 
else,  for  he  knew  the  soldiers  were  not  greatly  to 
blame.  He  urged  Congress  to  make  still  greater 
efforts  to  help  the  army. 

WILL. — I  don't  see  what  Congress  could  do  when 
it  couldn't  get  money. 

MOTHER.  —  There  is  no  knowing  what  might  have 
happened  to  the  Americans  if  it  had  not  been  for  a 
few  rich  men  who  loved  their  country  better  than 
their  wealth.  These  generous  patriots  gave  a  great 
deal  of  money  to  Congress,  because  they  pitied  the 
distress  of  the  soldiers.  Besides  this,  France  sent 
over  a  large  sum.  These  helps  were  a  great  relief 
to  Washington,  for  he  had  been  afraid  that  the  army 
would  be  broken  up. 

WILL. —  Then  the  English  would  have  beaten, 
sure  ! 

MOTHER.  —  In  1781,  Washington  felt  that  some 
decisive  steps  must  be  taken  to  weaken  the  English 
army.  General  Clinton  was  still  idle  in  New  York. 


VICTORY   AT   LAST.  261 

WILL.  —  And  Cornwallis  was  in  South  Caro- 
lina? 

MOTHER.  —  He  had  left  the  Carolinas  and  marched 
into  Virginia.  Here  he  was  doing  great  mischief, 
destroying  all  the  property  that  came  in  his  way. 
Finally,  he  made  a  stop  at  Yorktown,  which  he  be- 
gan to  fortify.  —  Find  it,  please. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  see  it.  It  is  near  Chesapeake  Bay,  on 
the  York  River. 

WILL.  —  And  there  is  James  River,  not  far  off. 

MOTHER.  —  Just  opposite  Yorktown  is  a  point  of 
land  called  Gloucester.  This  Cornwallis  also  forti- 
fied. 

LIZZIE.  —  Where  was  Washington  at  this  time  ? 

MOTHER.  —  He  was  still  near  New  York.  He  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  attack  Clinton ;  but  just  then 
he  heard  the  good  news  that  a  large  French  fleet 
would  soon  reach  Chesapeake  Bay. 

LIZZIE.  —  Did  he  give  up  his  plan,  then,  of  attack- 
ing General  Clinton? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  but  he  took  great  pains  to  con- 
ceal the  fact.  He  caused  a  large  place  to  be  marked 
out  for  an  encampment  in  New  Jersey.  Ovens  were 
built,  and  fuel  was  piled  up  for  the  baking  of  bread. 
Even  his  own  men  thought  Washington's  plan  was 
to  attack  New  York.  The  day  came  when  the  sup- 
posed attack  was  to  be  made.  The  men  were 


262  THE   STORY   OP   OUR   COUNTRY. 

marching,  as  they  thought,  towards  the  city ;  when 
suddenly  they  were  ordered  to  face  about,  and  they 
found  themselves  started  for  the  south. 

Before  they  reached  Virginia,  however,  Clinton 
guessed  their  object ;  and  in  order  to  draw  back  a 
part  of  the  American  troops,  he  sent  the  traitor 
Arnold  into  Connecticut,  with  a  body  of  red-coats. 
Two  or  three  towns  were  plundered  and  then 
burned. 

WILL.  —  "Washington  was  too  wise  to  be  cheated 
by  him,  I  hope. 

MOTHER.  —  He  had  left  enough  troops  at  West 
Point  and  other  places  on  the  Hudson  to  meet  any 
immediate  need  j  and  he  kept  on  towards  Yorktown. 

On  his  way  he  stopped  at  his  home,  Mount  Ver- 
non.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  been  there  for 
six  years.  But,  dear  as  the  spot  was  to  him,  he  felt 
he  must  not  pause  more  than  a  few  hours.  He 
pushed  on,  and  soon  arrived  with  his  army  before 
Yorktown.  Here  he  was  made  very  happy  by  the 
news  that  the  French  had  arrived  before  him,  and 
had  blocked  York  and  James  rivers. 

WILL.  —  Good  !    Was  Lafayette  in  Virginia  then? 

MOTHER.  —  Yes ;  and  by  Washington's  orders  he 
was  sent  to  prevent  Cornwallis  from  retreating  into 
North  Carolina. 

Lafayette  was  soon  joined  by  a  large  body  of  the 


VICTORY   AT  LAST.  263 

French  soldiers.  He  quickly  arranged  his  troops 
in  a  semicircle  around  the  English  army.  Cornwallis 
could  now  make  no  retreat  back  into  Virginia, 
neither  could  he  receive  food  or  any  kind  of  help 
from  the  surrounding  country.  The  French  fleet 
prevented  him  from  receiving  aid  by  way  of  the 
sea. 

WILL.  —  Aha,  Mr.  Cornwallis,  you  got  shut  up 
that  time,  like  a  mouse  in  a  trap ! 

MOTHER.  —  The  British  army  soon  began  to  be 
greatly  distressed  for  want  of  food ;  and  they  had 
to  kill  many  of  their  horses  to  make  the  grain  hold 
out. 

Cornwallis  sent  word  to  Clinton  that  he  must  have 
help  soon,  or  he  would  be  obliged  to  give  up. 

WILL.  —  He  did  not  have  as  many  troops  as 
Washington  —  did  he  ? 

MOTHER.  —  No  ;  the  American  and  French  troops 
together  numbered  sixteen  thousand.  Cornwallis 
had  but  half  that  number. 

WILL.  —  I  can  see  that  things  began  to  look 
pretty  bright  now  for  the  Americans.  Cornwallis 
couldn't  get  away  by  land  or  sea  without  breaking 
through  the  American  forces. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  for  once  his  men  couldn't  get 
enough  to  eat. 

MOTHER.  —  There  was  nothing  left  for  Cornwallis 


264  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

to  do  but  to  wait  for  help  from  Clinton,  and  to  make 
his  forts  stronger. 

WILL.  —  I  hope  Washington  let  the  red-coats 
smell  some  of  his  powder  before  Clinton  arrived. 

MOTHER.  —  On  the  9th  of  October,  1781,  orders 
were  given  to  bombard  Cornwallis's  forts.  Wash- 
ington himself  put  the  match  to  the  first  gun.  A 
furious  discharge  of  cannon  followed,  and  Lord 
Cornwallis  received  his  first  salutation.  This  bom- 
bardment was  kept  up  for  several  days. 

Cornwallis's  ammunition  began  to  fail,  and  he  saw 
that  he  could  no  longer  hold  out.  Rather  than  give 
up,  he  decided  to  try  to  escape  by  night.  He  hoped 
to  break  through  the  French  troops,  and  make  his 
way  to  join  Clinton  in  New  York. 

Sixteen  boats  were  secretly  prepared.  A  large 
part  of  the  troops  had  crossed  the  river  before  mid- 
night. The  remainder  were  about  to  enter  the 
boats,  when  a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  rain  arose, 
which  scattered  the  boats  and  drove  them  down  the 
river.  They  were  brought  back  with  difficulty. 
It  was  too  near  daybreak  to  get  the  remaining 
troops  across.  The  army,  already  weakened,  must 
not  be  divided.  The  recovered  boats  were  used 
to  bring  back  the  troops  that  had  already  crossed. 

Cornwallis  now  saw  that  his  case  was  hopeless. 
If  he  kept  on  fighting,  he  would  lose  what  brave 


VICTORY   AT   LAST.  265 

men  had  not  already  fallen  through  sickness  or 
battle.  Nothing  was  left  for  him  to  do  but  to 
give  up. 

WILL.  —  That's  just  the  way  General  Howe  had 
to  get  out  of  Boston.  Did  Cornwallis  lose  many 
men? 

MOTHER.  —  Between  five  and  six  hundred  had 
been  killed.  The  rest  became  prisoners  to  the 
Americans. 

WILL.  —  I  say,  wasn't  that  a  big  victory  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  And  so  few  men  killed  !  I  am  glad  of 
that.  But  you  didn't  tell  us  how  many  we  lost. 

MOTHER. —  The  Americans  and  French  together 
lost  but  about  three  hundred  men. 

I  think  there  is  nothing  that  better  shows  us 
Washington's  greatness  as  a  general  than  the  fact 
that  his  most  brilliant  victories  were  gained  by 
skilful  managing,  rather  than  by  having  many  men 
killed.  1  have  read  stories  of  generals  who  have 
won  great  victories,  that  the  world  will  always  talk 
about ;  but  I  never  read  of  any  successful  com- 
mander who  lost  fewer  men  than  Washington. 

WILL.  —  I  wish  I  could  have  seen  how  the  red- 
coats looked  when  they  marched  out  of  Yorktown. 
Did  our  troops  see  them? 

MOTHER.  —  Our  army  was  drawn  up  in  two  lines, 
each  more  than  a  mile  long  —  the  Americans  on  one 


266  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

side  of  the  road,  the  French  on  the  other;  Wash- 
ington, mounted  on  a  noble  horse  and  attended  by 
his  officers,  in  front  of  his  men,  and  the  French 
commander  and  his  suite  in  front  of  theirs. 

LIZZIE.  —  I  suppose  it  was  easy  to  tell  which  were 
the  French,  for  they  would  have  nicer  uniforms. 

MOTHER.  —  And  they  had  a  band  of  music  play- 
ing —  a  luxury  that  our  troops  could  never  afford. 

WILL.  —  The  American  soldiers  didn't  have  on 
such  fine  clothes,  of  course.  But  0,  how  proud 
they  must  have  looked  as  they  stood  there,  waiting 
to  see  the  king's  troops  —  brave  English  red-coats 
—  march  out  as  their  prisoners ! 

MOTHER.  —  Soon  the  British  troops  appeared. 
They  were  all  in  new  uniforms ;  but  they  looked 
anything  but  soldier-like.  Their  drums  Avere  beat- 
ing a  British  march ;  but  their  step  was  careless 
and  irregular,  their  looks  were  sullen.  How  could 
they  help  it,  when  they  saw  their  flags  closely 
folded,  instead  of  fluttering  in  the  breeze  ? 

As  Cornwallis  was  sick,  they  were  led  by  one 
of  his  generals,  who,  riding  up  to  Washington,  de- 
livered to  him  his  sword.  In  like  manner,  the 
officer  of  the  English  fleet  gave  up  his  sword  to 
the  French  commander. 

Then,  in  the  name  of  the  American  people,  the 
English  army  was  ordered  to  pass  into  an  adjoining 


VICTOEY  AT   LAST.  267 

field,  where  they  were  commanded  to  lay  down 
their  arms  upon  the  ground.  This  vexed  the  red- 
coats so  much  that  many  of  them  threw  down  their 
muskets  with  such  violence  as  to  break  them. 

After  this  the  prisoners  were  led  back  to  York- 
town,  where  they  were  to  await  orders  from 
Congress. 

WILL.  —  I  wonder  what  General  Clinton  thought 
when  he  heard  the  news ! 

MOTHER. —  Five  days  after  the  surrender,  General 
Clinton  with  seven  thousand  men  arrived  off  the 
coast  of  Virginia.  But  when  he  heard  of  the  fate 
of  his  comrade  Cornwallis,  he  set  sail  again  for  New 
York. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  what  did  the  people  of  America 
say? 

MOTHER.  —  At  the  news  of  the  glorious  victory, 
great  rejoicing  broke  forth  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other.  Bells  were  rung,  cannons 
fired,  and  towns  illuminated  everywhere.  Congress 
set  apart  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  in  gratitude  to 
God,  who  had  helped  the  colonies  gain  their  inde- 
pendence. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  did  George  III.  really  say  now 
that  the  colonies  were  free? 

MOTHER.  —  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  him 
to  lose  so  much  territory;  and  for  a  year  or  two 


268  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  he  was  unwilling 
to  recognize  American  independence.  But  people 
in  England  had  become  very  tired  of  the  war;  and 
the  best  men  in  Parliament  voted  that  peace  should 
be  declared.  So  George  III.  finally  gave  his  unwill- 
ing assent. 

Several  men  were  sent  from  America  and  England 
to  Paris,  to  talk  over  the  conditions  of  peace.  The 
principal  one  from  this  country  was  Franklin.  It 
took  several  months  to  settle  upon  terms  that  were 
satisfactory  to  all.  But  in  1783,  a  treaty  was  signed. 

The  English  soldiers  were  called  home ;  and 
George  III.  acknowledged  to  the  world  that  the 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  were  free  and  inde- 
pendent. 

WILL.  —  Hurrah  for  Washington  ! 

LIZZIE.  —  Now  that  the  war  was  over,  Washing- 
ton and  all  our  tired  soldiers  could  go  home  and 
rest. 

WILL. —  They  had  had  a  hard  time  of  it  —  eight 
years  in  camp  and  field  ! 


THE   SHIP   OF   STATE.  269 


XXIX. 

THE   SHIP   OF   STATE. 

MOTHER.  —  As  I  think  of  our  country  a  little  less 
than  a  hundred  years  ago,  she  seems  to  me  like  a 
great  ship,  in  a  rough  and  boisterous  sea.  As  she 
is  tossed  by  the  stormy  billows,  she  seems  impatient 
to  traverse  the  ocean,  and  try  her  speed  with  other 
great  ships.  I  see  many  passengers  on  board,  and 
gallant  sailors  ready  and  willing  for  work.  But  I 
hear  them  say  they  have  no  chart  and  no  compass. 

WILL.  —  Then  they  can't  be  safe,  far  away  from 
shore. 

LIZZIE.  —  Why  don't  the  captain  send  for  a  chart  ? 

MOTHER.  —  The  ship  has  no  captain.  Many  pas- 
sengers think  this  is  no  matter.  But  the  more 
thoughtful  are  anxious,  and  say,  "  We  shall  be 
wrecked,  if  we  go  to  sea  as  we  are." 

WILL.  —  I  see  what  you  mean.  The  sailors  are  the 
men  who  want  to  serve  their  country.  The  chart 
and  compass  are  the  right  kind  of  government. 

LIZZIE.  —  And  by  the  captain  you  mean  a  leader. 

MOTHER.  —  I  think  you  are  beginning  to  see  what 
our  country  needed.  People  in  Europe  were  watch- 


270  THE   STORY   OF   OUR   COUNTRY. 

ing  America  with  the  greatest  interest.  Kings  and 
emperors  said,  "  The  idea  of  so  many  people  trying 
to  govern  themselves  !  They  will  soon  get  to  quar- 
relling with  each  other ;  then  we  shall  see  what  will 
become  of  them." 

But  the  best  and  wisest  men  everywhere  hoped 
that  America  would  become  what  the  forefathers 
said  it  should  —  an  asylum  for  the  poor  and  op- 
pressed of  all  lands. 

LIZZIE.  —  If  there  were  men  wise  enough  to  make 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  I  should  think  there 
would  be  no  trouble  in  getting  a  chart  for  America. 

MOTHER.  —  You  are  right.  Three  years  after 
peace  was  declared,  the  principal  men  of  the 
country  met  together  to  decide  upon  the  best  plan 
of  government ;  only  they  didn't  call  it  a  chart,  but 
a  constitution. 

They  finally  agreed  on  what  would  be  best  for 
the  country ;  and  all  the  states  promised  to  be 
guided  by  this  constitution. 

WILL.  —  Now  they  wanted  a  leader. 

MOTHER.  —  And  whom  do  you  think  they  chose  ? 

LIZZIE.  —  I  guess  Franklin. 

MOTHER.  —  The  people  chose  their  first  leader  in 
1789.  Think  a  moment,  and  you  will  see  how  old 
Franklin  was  at  this  time. 

LIZZIE.  —  Franklin  was  born  in  1706.     So  he  must 


THE  SHIP   OF  STATE. 


271 


have  been  eighty-three  years  old.  Of  course  he 
couldn't  work  for  the  country  much  longer.  I  am 
sorry,  for  who  would  make  so  good  a  leader? 


Washington  as  first  President. 


WILL.  —  I  think  they  chose  Washington.  He  had 
been  with  the  people  so  much  during  the  war  that 
everybody  loved  him. 


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